









ww^fwv^rvwwwwvw 



«♦«♦»♦♦- ♦-♦- •• 

Reduced rate Tickets furnished Ini- ' 
migrants. 30 days stop uver prmlejces. * 
Immigrants shown lands by County t 
Board Agents, free of charge. 



V 



r 



Free Reading Rooms for Immigraute. 
4 Information about lands and Country 
' generally, free of charge. Maps and 
▼ Pamphlets given on application. 



OREGON AS IT IS. 



Issued by the Oregon State Board of Immigration. 



Solid Facts and Actual Results. 



Read it through Carefully 
and hand to your neighbor. 



FOh THE USE AND INFCKMATiON OF IMMIGRANTS 

6th Edition of 10,000. 



»♦»♦»♦. 



MRS: J 



BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS 

Chas. H. Dodd, Prest., - Portland. 
, Wm. M. Ladue, VicePrest, Salem, f 
H. W. Corbett, , .rtland. • 

H. TV Millar. . . n.~.,.. 



H. B. Miller, 



Grant • 



S. Rothchild, - . Pendleton. 



fl00MS, t C0R. FRONT AND ASH STS. 

\ Adjoining Ash Street Dock, 

j Up Stairs, 

*. PORTLAND, - OREGON. » 

LC. B. CARLISLE, 
Secretary, f 




The Levis & Dryden Printing Co v First and Ash, Portland, Or. 




Fttl 



Class. 



I 



OREGON AS IT IS. , 



PUBLISHED "^- • 



FOR GRATUITOUS DISTRIBUTION 

EY THE ! 

I 

' STATE BOARD OF IMMIGRATION 



A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE STATE, 



CONTAINING 



ACCURATE AND TRUSTWORTHY INFORMATION FOR THOSE SEEKING 

NEW HOMES IN A MILD AND HEALTHFUL CLIMATE, OR THE 

BEST FIELDS FOR THE INVESTMENT OF CAPITAL. 



PORTLAND, MAY, 1856. 



PORTLAND, OREGON : 

The Lewis & Dryden Printing Co., First and Ash Streets. 

1889. 



^£> 4 



PREFACE. 



The Secretary of the Board has, in the preparation of this volume, 
availed himself of every means within his reach in order to show the 
advantages of this great and growing state, but in it all has il stuck 
to his text," ^Oregon as it is," giving facts that can be substantiated 
at a moment's notice. 

To all wishing to live and labor in a mild and healthy climate, and 
enjoy the pleasures and blessings which come from the rightful pos- 
session of splendid farming and stock lands, safe and profitable in- 
vestments for capital, good society, schools, churches and kindred 
advantages, a cordial welcome is extended. 



3 OCT 1905 
D. of 0, 



r 0^4 



OREGON AS IT IS. 



Naturally enough, men will think well and write well of their own 
commonwealth, and chosen home; and it is just as natural, that when 
a stranger to Oregon takes up this little book, his first thought will 
be about the degree of allowance to be made for the statements set 
forth. But this statement is intended, as its title intimates, to set 
forth the truth about Oregon. It is in no sense a "boom" edition, 
save as easily substantiated facts and truth, serve to advance the in- 
terests of Oregon. Tt has been published to meet the wide-reaching 
demand for authenticated information about this state; information that 
shall be full, right to the point, practical; that will convey to all who 
may desire a new home, or a location for some valuable industry 
here, a correct idea of the inducements which Oregon offers. There 
is nothing expedient or honest in overwrought or highly-colored 
statements regarding this, or any other State, as an immigration field. 
Oregon has nothing to lose, and all to gain, by a close, scrutinizing 
investigation of what she has to offer, in the way of climate, soil, 
general productions, social advantages, schools, church interests and 
kindred things. The inducements offered, as well as the pre-emi- 
nent advantages set forth, ought to be sufficient to influence the agri- 
culturist, stock-raiser, the merchant, mechanic and capitalist, toward 
our borders. 

Within the immense area of 96,000 square miles, all desirability is 
held; nearly every interest is embraced; the agricultural factor is al- 
most limit] ess, and for the investment of capital, and pluck and en- 
ergy, the field in Oregon is just now golden with opportunity. 

On farms the immigrant will find himself in a well peopled neigh- 
borhood, and within easy reach of all the comforts, conveniences, if 
not the elegancies, of the most refined civilization. Volumes might 
be written on the State of Oregon, if we should stop to speak of the 
thrift and enterprise of her towns and cities, as exhibited in the gen- 
eral and rapid growth of the State. The attractions of Oregon are 
just now exerting a strong influence over those who are looking for 
new homes, and the best fields for the investment of capital. It is 
the Shiloh land of the intending immigrant; the outpost of the Far 
West. Through her wonderful agricultural resources, as well as her 
natural and acquired advantages for the prosecution of all kinds of 
industrial pursuits; her mines, gold, silver, copper, iron and coal; her 
vast timber fieldes and wide-reaching stretches of stock range, Ore- 
gon has permanently advanced to a position which is a matter of 
pride and satisfaction to her citizens. 



4 ", OREGON AS IT IS. 

Having a Pacific Ocean coast line of about 300 miles as its western 
boundary, a width of 350 miles from east to west, 275 miles in ex- 
tent from north to south, Oregon embraces an area of 60,000,000 
acres of land. It is a vast domain crowded with the resources of an 
empire. It is a land of wonderful possibilities, for her valleys, both 
in extent and productiveness, are unmatched anywhere on the globe. 

In the proportions of production to population, Oregon stands at 
the front in wheat, oats, and barley, and in the aggregate of all grains 
and of all food. The yield of wheat in '84 equalled a production of 
more than sixteen hundred pounds for each inhabitant of the State. 
In this, as in other elements of human food, Oregon is almost with- 
out a parallel. The possibilities of the future in the development of 
her latent or undeveloped wealth, are simply incalculable; almost 
beyond comprehension. 

The great results of the past have been accomplished by industry, 
economy and enterprise, and while our people have looked to that 
which is measured by the word finance, they have not forgotten the 
social and domestic relations, or the moral and intellectual influences, 
all of which are evinced by the homes, the schools, churches and 
colleges found on every hand. 

QUESTONS AND ANSWERS. 

From the tens of thousands of questions asked of us by mail, the 
following are here presented with their appropriate answers : 

How many classes of land are open to settlement? (Two; government and railway.) 

Is purchase money required in order to obtain government land? (Government lands are 
divided into four classes. Homestead, Pre-emption, Mineral and Timber Culture claims. The 
first and last named require no outlay of money except the small fee paid at the land office. 
The pre-emption claim requires purchase money.) 

Explain the word Homestead? (The word homestead, as now applied in the United States, 
signifies a tract of land given away by the Government as a free gift forever, on the single con- 
dition that the person accepting the gift shall live upon the land and cultivate it, and make it 
his home for five years. Any citizen of the United States, who is the head of a family, or an 
unmarried person over the age of twenty-one years, is entitled to a homestead of 160 acres. 
Persons of foreign birth may avail themselves bf the benefit of this law by declaring their in- 
tention to become citizens ; and this they can do immediately after their arrival in this country. 
The Land Office fees are from $16 to $22, which must be paid at the time of filing the applica- 
tion. Within six months after riling his application at the Land Office the settler must com- 
mence living upon and improving the land, and thereafter for five years he must make this 
tract his actual home. A soldier who served not less than ninety days in the army during the 
late rebellion is, required to live on the land five years, less the time he served in the army. At 
the expiration of five years, or within two years thereafter, on making proof at the Land Office 
by two competent witnesses that he has complied -with all the requirements of the law, and 
paying an additional fee of from $6 to $12, he will receive from the Government a complete 
and absolute title to the land. If at any time after six months residence the homestead settler 
should desire to get a full title to his land, he can do so by making proof of settlement and 
cultivation up to date, and paying the Government price of $1 25 or $y 50 per acre for the land, 
according to location — that is within or without the boundary lines of railroad grants. Home- 
steads, until the issuing of the patents, are free from taxation.) 

What is the Pre-emption law? (Any person qualified to take a homestead is also entitled 
to 160 acres under the pre-emption law— but not at the same time.— Within ninety days after 
settlement on the land he must file his application in the District Land Office where the land 
is located, which will cost $3. But he must commence settlement before making his applica- 
tion. At any time after six months residence, and up to thirty months after filing his applica- 
tion, the settler may pay for the land at the rate of $1 25 or $2*50 an acre according to location, 
and receive his patent from the United States.) 

What is meant by Timber Culture? (Under this law a quarter section, J. 60 acres, is allowed 
the qualified man or woman, resident or non-resident, who pays $14 fees, and thereafter breaka 
or plows five acres the first year, cultivates it the second year, and plants to forest trees, cut- 
tings or seeds the third year; and beginning the second year breaks another five acres, and 
cultivates and plants the third and fourth years. When he gets his ten acres— the lawful area — 
planted, he keeps the trees cultivated and in good growing condition for four years more, or 
eight years from date of his entry. If at that time he can show 6,750 healthy trees, he will be 
granted title on paying $4 Land Office fees.) 



OREGON AS IT IS. 5 

How man\' Laud Offices are there iu Oregon and where located? (Five; they are located at 
Oregon City, Clackamas County. Oregon; Roseburg. Douglas County, Oregon; Lakeview. Lake 
County. Oregou: The Dalles, Wasco County. Oregon: La Grande. Union County, Oregon.) 

How much governnent laud can one person take? (Fie can obtain 160 acres in each of the 
three classes; 480 acres in all.) 

Can he obtain all these claims at once? (By ho means.) 

Why? (Because the conditions under which he acquires the Pre-emption and Homestead 
claims require his actual settlement upon them, and it is of course impossible to live in more 
than one place at a time.) 

How can a man obtain all of these claims iu the most expeditious manner? (He may file 
applications for a Pre-emption and a Timber Culture tract at once, as the latter does not require 
actual residence; then after six months he may pay in full for his pre-emption and then imme- 
diately take and occupy a Homestead.) 

Can I get government land in the vicinity of the railway or towns in your State? .(There 
has always been more or less misapprehension among immigrants regarding government lands 
in this State, the general idea being that there are millions of acres of such lands lying in the 
valleys, and all of" it is ready for the plow. This is an error. While it is true that there are 
some fine open rolling lanas in Eastern Oregon, the Government land open for settlement, lies 
in the Cascade and Coast Range of mountains, or along the Columbia and small valleys and 
is more or less heavily timbered. Along the foothills there are some sections of government 
land denominated "•brush land, 1 '' a\d here and there in each quarter section a few acres of open 
land This is true of the locality between Forest Grove and Astoria, on the Central grant 
— now forfeited; — it is true of some portions of Columbia County, Clackamas County, Washing- 
ton County, Lane and Linn Counties, in Western Oregon. In the Southern portion of the 
State, in the Rogue River and Umpqna Valleys, in the Counties of Jackson and Josephine this 
land may be found. A part of this lies in the small valleys and along the streams. These 
tract/? are not extensive, and a comparatively small proportion of the whole is available for im- 
mediate cultivation. It. is possible for the immigrant to find now and then an excellent loca- 
tion on government land in the localities named'here. under this heading, but it is a mistake 
to say that ten thousand immigrants can be so fortunate. If he mu*t have government land, 
the new-comer will have to lake his share of heavy or light limber land as is removed some- 
what from the lines ot transportation and towns. These claims will be very valuable by and by, 
and for the present will, if properly looked after, provide a good home for the immigrant family. 
But that ''properly looked after 11 means much patience and industry. It is best that the new- 
comer should realize this truth from the start. Lauds without timber will be found in Eastern 
Oregon. These are bunch grass lands, ani along the Northern tier of Counties, Wasco, Uma- 
tilla, Morrow, Gilliam and Union, suitable for diversified farming. In the Southeastern portion 
of the State or what is known as the Klamath Country, the government lands are specially 
adapted to stock raising, i 

Is there plenty of railway land to be had? (Plenty of it; some fine tracts of railway land 
along the line of the Oregon and California road in the Willamette Valley and in Southern 
Oregon. In Eastern Oregon these lands are chiefly in the hands of the. Northern Pacific Com- 
pany, and the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company.) 

What is the expense of living compared w r itn that in the East? (Answering in a general 
way, the necessary liviug expenses in cities and towns, including servant hire, are about ten 
per cent, greater than in the East. Of course the productions of Oregon, which are consumed 
at home, are as cheap as elsewhere. Hotel rates in the towns of .the interior average $1 per 
day for transient customers. Board and lodging by the week, about $5 at the hotels; about 
$4 00 at private houses. House rents in the small towns, are quite low. Good five-room 
houses, with some yard attached, can be had for from $5 to $10 per montji. Farm hands com- 
mand about $25 per month, by the year's hire: harvest hands, $1 75 to $2 50 per day; house 
servants, about $20 per month". For mechanics, the average is probably $3 per clay. For car- 
penters and shop hands, masons, $5. Milch cows are worth about $30 each. Horses average 
$200 a span. As to the yield of Oregon productions, we take the report of the Government, 
actual figures furnished by the growers, and the estimates made by farmers, generally. Out of 
a dozen farmers interviewed, "two had less than 24 bushels of Wheat to the acre last year. 
1884; four had 32 bushels and the others over 3(5 bushels to the acre. It is a common thing to 
have 38 and 40 and even 50 bushels of wheat to the acre. The Government makes the average 
nearly 23; oats, 45 to 85 bushels to the acre. It is not an infrequent thing to have a yield of 
85 to 100 bushels of oats to the acre in the Willamette Valley. Oats from 5 to 8 feet high are 
common in this State. A good deal of this grain weighs 50 pounds to the bushels. Wheat 
raised in this State, weighs 64 pounds to the bush- 1. Barley yields on an average 26 to 28 
bushels to the acre. Rye 20 to 28 bushels. Potatoes will average about 125 bushels, many 
farmers gather from 200 to 350 bushels! The growth of such things as squashes, pumpkins, 
turnips, sweet potatoes and the like is simply astonishing. Corn, in Southern Oregon where it 
is grown as a crop, yields 65 to 75 bushels to the acre. The growth of the stalk is enormous; 
12 feet being a very "common height.) 

What is your climate? (Mild and equable, winter and summer.) 

Is your State well watered with running streams? (Yes.) 

Is there plenty of timber? (Plenty of it in the mouutaius and foothills.) 

On what term's can farms be rented, cash? (About $1 75 per acre for cultivated soil.) 

What grain rent? (One-third of crop.) 

Have you tree schools? (Yes.) 

Amount per capita of public money? ($2 25 and $3) 

What do teachers get? (Males $35" to $80: females. $30 to $60.) 

What minerals have you? (Gold, silver, copper, lead, iron. tin. zinc, cinnabar.) 

What is your staple product? (Wheat.) 

Hired help? (Male. $15 to $25 per mouth; female, $3 50 to $5 per week.) 

Interest on money? (Eight per cent.) 



6 OREGON AS IT IS. 

Average price of wheat? (75 cents: oats, 30 cents.) 

What is the cost of plowing? ($1 75 an acre: rolling, 30 cents; harrowing, 30 cents; seed- 
ing, 1% bushels to acre; tax on" cultivated land, from 18 "to 30 mills.) 

Do you summer fallow? (Yes.) 

Average depth of plowing? (Six inchest 

Do you subsoil? (Not generally.) 

Unavoidable losses on account of weather? (Very slight.) 

Amount of hay per acre? (Clover, three to five tons; timothy, two or three tons; cost of 
cutting, 50 cents per acre.) 

Cost of dairy stock? (Common, $25 to $40.') 

Cost of shearing sheep? (Seven cents per head.) 

Does sheep industry pay? (Yes.) 

What herds most profitable for wool? (Merino and Leicester.) 

For mutton? (Southdowns.) 

Average weight of fleece? (Six pounds.) 

Price of wool? (15 to 25 cents.) 

Method of wintering? (Mostly grass.) 

A. WEATHER BULLETIN, 

OREGON CLIMATE BY COMPARISON. 

Iii the mind of the intending settler, almost everything else relating to the State to which his eyes are 
turned, is subordinate to the question of climate. With good and sufficient reasons, the citizen of 
Oregon claims that in the matter of a healthy, even and attractive climate, his State will compare 
more than favorably with the record made by any other in the Union. In order to present in a con- 
cise and comprehensive way, these comparisons as made by the quite always correct and impartial! 
Signal Service Bureau, is the object of this bulletin. Following is a 

SBATEMANT, Showing the Maximum, Minimum and Mean Temperatures of the below named 
Stations of the Signal Service, U. S. Army, for November and Decem- 
ber, 1885, ami January and Feuruary, 1886. 



STATIONS. 



Cedar Keys, Fla 4 

Jacksonville, Fla 

Louisville, Ky 

Cincinnati, Ohio . . . . . # 

Cleveland, Ohio ' , 

Columbus, Ohio 

Philadelphia, Pa 

Pittsburg, Pa 

Moorhead, Minn 

Saint Paul, Minn 

Des Moines, Iowa 

La Crosse, Wis 

Milwaukee, Wis 

Detroit, Mich 

Marquette, Mich 

Dodge City, Kan 

Leavenworth, Kan 

Bismarck, Dak 

Fort Buford, Dak 

North Platte. Neb 

Omaha, Neb 

Lamar, Mo 

Saint Louis, Mo , 

Chicago, 111 

Springfield, 111 

Indianapolis, Ind 

Abiline, Tex |85. 

Fort Elliott, Tex : |83. 

Galveston, Tex 

Atlanta, Ga 

Savannah, Ga 



TEMPERATURE^ 



1885 



November. December 



6 38.8 
2|36.4 

7 34.0 

8 i 27.1 
3J22.1 
2 1 22. 9 

28.8 
0(21.1 
9! 5.0 

7 17.2 
3 21.4 
0120.8 
81 22. 5 
1J28.9 
0(23.3 
5121.2 
5 1 26.0 
6J10.0 
11.9 
23.3 
ll21.5 
021.6 
1131.8 
0|27.6 
2129.8 

8 23.7 
8127.4 
421.0 
3J46.4 
29.2 
5 35.0 



60.5 
61.3 

48.7 
43.8 
40. 8 J 
40.9 
45.0 
43.6| 



73.7 
76.0 
66.9 
6C.0 
61.4 
60.2 
60.1 
72.8 
27.8; '42.8 
33.3' 151.6 
39.2 55.9 
38.0 53.0 
37.5 i 47.1 
42.l! 154.8 
34.3; 48.1 
45.2 ( i70.0 
43.5' |57.2 



31.052. 

32.2 53. 

9.4141, 

3.3 35. 

2.7131. 

.932. 

14.8! 36. 

6. 2 ; 35. 

-20.2 15. 

-17.9121. 



30.8 
34.0, 
39.5, 
39.9 ! 
47.2 



53.01 
59.3! 
69.0! 
60. 0] 
63.6! 



- 3.0 

- 9.5 
11.0 

.7 

- 8.2 
1.5 
2.0132. 

-10.8 23. 
-10.2 23. 

- 6.0 32 
■ 4.4 



47.8:;64.9| 
41.9 50.31 



Portland, Oregon |j65.0J34.0 47.3 



45.6 
41.9 
56.2 
47.4 
64.9 
50.2 
57.9 



58.01 
56.3 
80.01 

77.5 
72.5 
69. 0! 
71.81 



- 4.3 
6.0 

- 2.9 
6.0 

- 2.1 
14.8 

- .3 
34.3 
21.0 
30.0 



57.21 27.0 45.01160.0 



1886 



January. 



73.0 
71.9 
61.9 
56.6 
53.6 
56.0 
58.1 
60.6 
32.1 
30.0 
36.6 
36.7 
45.1 
55.1 
35.4 
44.0 
45.5 
39.4 
44.1 
52.0 
6IJ41.8 
3SI62.0 
9j 1 60.0 
1 148.3 
6H58.0 
0JJ55.3 
4! 172.4 
81 160.0 
61 '68.7 
7 59.9 
1 70.0 



15.5 
15.3 

- 7.5 
-12.4 

- 9.0 
-10.8 

3.9 

- 4.8 
-39.8 
-33.9 
-24.0 
-25.6 
-21.8 

- 3.5 
-17.8 
-16.2 

20.5 
-36.9 
-48.2 
-21.2 
-24.1 
-16.0 

- 8.2 
-14.4 
-12.9 
-11.3 

- 2.8 

- 9.6 
11.0 

- 2.4 
12.0 

15.0 



49.2 
50.7 
31.0 
25.4 
23.1 
23.8 
29.4 
27.4 

- 6.9 
4.1 

10.9 
12.6 
15.8 
24.7 
13.8 
16.5 
14. 4 1 

- 4.0i 

- 4.2l 
15.91 

7.3! 
19.3| 
24.8 
21.4 
22.7 
22.2 
34. 9 i 
25. 2 ! 
47.3) 
36.1! 
45.9J 
1 
36.11 



I 


'EBRUARY. 


a 

7T.0 




I 


16.0 


48.2 


71.0 


16.3 


49.8 


60.0 


- 7.4 


32.0 


57.4 


-13.3 


26.3- 


53.4 


- 9.1 


24.2 


57.0 


—10.7 


22.8 


59.2 


— 3.8 


28.6 


59.4 


— 4.9 


26.2 


32.2 


—38.4 


— 6.4 


30.0 


-33.9 


4.0 


37.2 


— 28.0 


—11.2 


37.2 


—26.6 


—11.5 


45.2 


—22.9 


14.4 


56.2 


- 3.7 


24.9 


36.2 


35.4 


12.6 


41.2 


—16.4 


16.4 


44.2 


—21.4 


13.9 


38.3 


36.2 


— 4.1 


43.2 


—48.2 


— 4.2 


52.9 


—21.2 


15. 9 


42.8 


—24.1 


7.2 


61.2 


—15.2 


— 9.3 


60.2 


- 8.3 


24.4 


49.1 


—14.3 


22.3 


57.8 


—13.9 


22.4 


54.4 


—11.4 


21.8 


73.3 


— 2.7 


34.6 


61.0 


— 9.5 


26.2 


67.7 


11.2 


48.3 


58.4 


— 2.6 


37.2 


71.0 


12.0 


44.3 


65.0 


31.0 


44.7 



OREGON AS IT IS. 
MEAN TEMPERATURE. 

From the above we take the following comparison of mean temperatures 



NOVEMBER, 

In November the mean temperature at the 
following places was : 

Cedar Keys, Fla 60. 5 Omaha 39.9 

Louisville, Ky 48.7 Chicago. 41.9 

St. Paul, Minn 33.3 Abilene, Tex 56.2 

Des Moines, Iowa. . . .39.2 Atlanta, Ga 50.2 

Detroit, Mich 42.1 Portland, Ore 47.3 

With the exception of seven places of the thirty- 
two given by Gen. Hazen, the maximum for 
November was above 57. The maximum for this 
city for that month was 65. The minimum was 
34. Only four places in the thirty-two named 
had a minimum higher than 35. 

DECEMBER. 

The December record of mean temperature 
shows : 

Cedar Keys 52.8 Leavenworth, Ks 32.8 

Louisville 41.0 Chicago 31.1 

St. Paul 21.1 Abilene ,..49.4 

Des Moines 28.4 Atlanta 42.7 

Detroit 32.9 Portland, Ore 45.0 

Omaha 28.6 



JANUARY. 

The January data is as follows : 

Cedar Keys. .*. 49. 2 1 Bismarck, Dak .... —40.0 

Louisville 31.0 North Platte 15.9 



Pittsburg, Pa 27.4 

St. Paul 4.1 

Des Moines 10.9 

Milwaukee, Wis 15.8 

Dodge City,Ks." 16.5 



Omaha 7.3 

St. Louis, Mo 23.8 

Chicago 21.4 

Abilene, Tex 25.2 

Galveston 36.1 



Leavenworth, Ks. . . .14.4|Poi - tland, Ore 36.1 

The minimum for Portland during January was 
15.0 ; the maximum was 60.0. 

FEBRUARY. 

For February record we have the following- 
mean temperatures : " 

Cedar Key ,. .4~8.2 Bismarck —4.1 

Louisville 32.0 North Platte 15.9 

Pittsburg 26.2 St. Louis 24.4 

St. Paul 4.2 Lamar, Mo —9.3 

Des Moines —11.2 Abilene 34.6 

Detroit 24.7 Galveston 48.3 

Dodge City 16.4 Portland 44.7 

The maximum for this city was 65.0, and ^the 
minimum 31.0 



Additional to this record, we herewith furnish a few 

WEATHER FOOT NOTES. 

Which will be of interest in this connection. 

OCTOBER. 

Portland, Oct. 24, 1885. — First rain of the season. Nov. 7.— Strawberries from a garden at Mt. 
Tabor for sale in the market. Nov. 8. — A box of second crop of June Red apples received, grown in 
Washington county. Nov. 25.— Green string beans from the vines served at a Thanksgiving dinner in 
Albany. 

NOVEMBER. 

St. Paul, Nov. 8, 1885. — Very cold weather in northern part of the State; ground frozen quite deep. 
Immigrants arriving report very cold weather in Minnesota. Hea\y frost in August, September and 
November. 

Des Moines, Nov. 15. — Cold weather: farmers feeding housed-up cattle. 

Detroit, Mich., Nov, 15. — Cold snap; ice on small streams. 

Portland, Nov. 30. — Delightful sunshine; no signs of winter. 



Omaha, Dec. 1 to 10. — Light snow squall; quite cold. 

Des Moines, Iowa, Dec. 8. — Winter setting in; very cold. 

Duluth, Dec. 13. — Cold with snow storms. 

Dayton, Ohio, Dec. 15. — Very cold; winter sets in. Dec. 16. — Unusually cold. 

Atlanta, Ga. Dec. 28. — Intensely cold. 

Nashville, Tenn. Dec. 24. — Remarkably cold. 

PortI and, Dec. 5 to 20.— Bright warm sunshine; flowers still in bloom in the yards. Dec. 31.— -The 
following are extracts from papers published in the Willamette valley the last week in December, 1SS5. 

We received the day after Christmas, a bouquet of flowers fiom Mrs. Potter that had been taken 
from plants in bloom out of doors, just the day before. The boquet consisted of roses, cactus blooms, 
fuschia, geraniums; chrysanthemums, daisies, sweet alysium and snapdragons. — Albany Herald. 

Mrs. Jones presented us with a beautiful bouquet on Christmas eve, rich and fragrant, fresh from 
her door yard, including ripe blackberries from the garden. 

Mr. Taylor showed us some spring violets that he had picked on Christmas day. 

J. E. Brooks, of this city, has left at the Reporter office ripe July-bough apples, about the fifth crop 
this year. The tree from which they came, yielded ripe fruit every month from Juife, till November. 
— Yamhill Reporter. 

For several years past we have had ripe blackberries in November. This year they come in 
December as large as the end of a mans little finger, and each one fully ripe, not dry and woody, but 
juicy and nearly equal to summer fruit. — Salem Talk. 

Jan. 1, '86. — The old year died in a blaze of glory yesterday. The sun shone in splendor from an 
unclouded sky, and the air was cool and refreshing — not cold and bracing. Save for the leafless trees 
there was scarcely a suggestion of winter. Ice wagons made their regular rounds, and outside of them 
nothing frozen was to be seen. The fields and grass plots are as green as in June, and roses are bloom- 
ing in the gardens, and hardy flowers, such as pansies, daisies, carnation pinks, verbenas, phlox and 
chrysanthemums are still putting forth buds and blossoms. The three or four slight frosts of a week 
ago nipped the tender plants, but a ver}- presentable bouquet can still be gathered in the gardens of this 
city, all the flowers grown in the open air. — Oregonian. 

JANUARY. 

Portland, Jan. 18. — First snow fall of the season; snow melted before noon of the 19th ; minimum 



8 OREGON AS IT IS. 

temperature, 19. Some snow at Albany. Rain in Southern Oregon. Eastern Oregon, snow six inches 
deep, and cold. Jan. 21.— A blockade of land and snow slide at Hood River; train detention seven 
daj T s ; winter ended with this stoi*m. 

Spokane Falls, Eastern Washington, Jan. 21. — Snow deep; weather very cold. 

Walla Walla, Jan 21. — Snowing hard; very cold. 

St. Paul, Minn., Jan. 21. — Worst blizzard ever known; 38 deg. below zero. At Minneapolisjsame. 

Kansas City, Mo., Jan. 21. — Trains all abandoned; 24 deg. below zero. 

Bismarck, Dak., Jan. 22. — Very cold; 36 below zero. 

FEBRUARY. 

Portland, Feb. 1 to 15. — Bright, warm sunshine; wraps laid aside. Mean temperature on the 4th 
day, 56; Feb. 4, highest, 65; lowest, 44. Feb. 20. — Daffodils and primroses in bloom. Feb. 26. — 
Violets in bloom. In Eastern Oregon lilacs budding. Southern Oregon homes embowered in \ each 
and almond blossoms. 

New York, Feb. 5. — Worst snow storm since 1882; intensely cold. 

Virginia, Feb. 5. — Snow 13 inches deep at Lynchburg; railway communication interrupted. 

Harrisburg, Pa., Feb. 4. — Snow fell 18 inches dee ; _ ; still snowing; very cold. 

Dodge City, Kan. — Intensely cold ; people frozen to death in settlements 30 miles from here. 

Detroit, Mich., Feb. 4. — Verv cold; heavy snow storm. Dakota. — Snow and cold; 38 below zero at 
Bismarck. 

Washington City, Feb. 3. — Snow* just fallen 6 inch.s deep; very cold. 

MARCH. 

Portland, March 21. — Plenty of garden "truck." New potatoes and early vegetables in the mar- 
ket. Flowers in bloom everywhere in the State. Spring fully established. Spring and summer farm 
work under full headway. 

Calais, Me., March 1. — Aristook county is snowed in; snow 2 feet deep; trains abandoned. Milwau- 
kee, Wis., same date; very cold. Burlington, Iowa, same date; very cold. Syracuse, N. Y., same date; 
very cold weather. Dallas, Tex.; snow squall and very cold. 

Portland, March 11. — Immigrants arriving to-day, report deep snows at their home in Illinois, 
(Mendota) and snow all along the line of travel until Eastern Oregon was reached. New comers from 
Kansas report ice 3 feet thick at their home. March 5. —Deep snow and intensely cold. Michigan 
and Iowa people arriving on the 16th inst, report very cold weather in their States. 

St. Paul, March 20. — Heavy snow storm; street cars stopped running. Storm general throughout 
the State, Dakota and the northwest. 

APRIL. 

April 5th.— Heavy snow and sleet storm extending from New York to Ohio, and south of the Ohio 
river. Snow in Cloud Co., Kansas; very cold weather. 

Portland, April 5. — All blossom andbloom. Summer temperature. 

The climate in Southern Oregon is thus described by a local immigration board. The Rogue river 
valley is the section where always perpetual summer and early falls reign supreme. The winters here 
enjoyable. Rain is never of the beating, driving kind, but falls straight down. The yearly rainfall is 
32 inches. Cyclones and tornadoes are unknown. Ice | inch thick is rare at Grant's Pass, and during 
the winter just past there was not snow enough at any time to track a rabbit. The lowest the ther- 
mometer went at any time was 26 F., and that just at daybreak. Farmers can plow almost any day 
during the whole winter. 

The summers are delightful, the thermometer rarely going above 85 deg.; the nights are always so 
cool that a pair of blankets are necessaiy. Sultry, hot nights are unknown here. Showers come in the 
summer at proper intervals until July, and sometimes later, but usually July and August are dry 
months. Crops have never been known to fail, and a drought is an unknown thing. 

In the Eastern portion of the State, but a few days in each winter show a zero record; and owing 
to the usual dryness of the atmosphere, cold is not felt there as in damper localities. Practically, 
winter generally lasts no longer than five or six weeks, and often not over three or four. The February 
is not infrequently similar to April in New York or Illinois, while March is like their May. The same 
may be said of the summers as of the winters — some hot weather, equal to that in the States mentioned 
but scarcety ever more than a few days at a time; and even then, nights are always cooler in compari- 
son, affording ample opportunity for comfortable sleep. As to salubrity, there is probably not a place 
in the United States where general healthfulness is more prevalent. Chronic diseases and epidemics 
are unknown, save a few cases of ague along small portions of one or two streams. Strong winds are 
not uncommon in the spring and summer months, but never in winter; and anything approaching 
cyclones are entirely unknown here. A study of the comparisons here made, will fully substantiate 
all the statements that have been made relative to the s lendid climate of eastern Oregon. 

Additional we present the following facts gathered from a long experience in the State. 

The climate of Oregon is healthful and invigorating. The State has a higher average health 
record than any other in the Union; the percentage of deaths to the population being .69 in 1000. 
Missouri stands 1.63. This is the Government record. Nature has struck a happy medium between 
the climate of California, with its alternations of wet and dry seasons, and that of the Eastern States, 
with their shifting and uncertain changes. We do not have here in Oregon, the torrid heat of Califor- 
nia, nor do our winters remind us much of Eastern freezings and thawings. The thermometer rarely 
rises above eighty degrees in summer, in the hottest days, and scarcely ever sinks below twenty above 
in winter. So the most active outdoor labor may be performed throughout the year. In the East when 
in summer the thermometer gets up to 80, people seek the shade, in this State they seek the sunshine 
from choice; there is a tonic in it at that temperature. The rains, beginning the last of September, 
fall, with increasing frequency, say from November 20th, and reach their maximum in January. 
Diminishing in February, which is usually mild, they continue through Maj-, falling then semi-occasion- 
ally and exerting no ill effect, exce, ting that the grain crop might suffer if far enough advanced. The 
rain-fall during the summer months is light. Only twice in forty years have the grain crops been 
injured by untimely rains, for the season of harvesting is pre-eminently the dry time. There are no 



OREGON AS IT IS. 9 

cyclones; no drouths: no sunstrokes; no sudden changes or disastrous atmospheric phenomena; no 
sluggishjatmosphere which enervates in summer or generates virulent fevers in winter. The mean 
average temperature in July is about 68; that of January, 45 degrees. 

Another strong argument in favor of our climate is in its relation to agricultural production. The 
superior quality of our wheat, famous the world over, clearly establishes and enforces the fact that we 
have the sunshiny days and long cool nights, less intense heat in maturing months, necessary for the 
perfect growth of the highest grade of wheat. Not only this cereal, but the best climate for oats, rye, 
barley, corn, hops, grassses, flax, vegetables, fruits of all kinds, and berries of every kind imaginable, 
as belonging to the teni{. ei ate regions. In a word the climate of Oregon develops a rich vegetation, 
ripens abundant harvests and is favorable to the growth of a strong, healthy race of people. 

The health and prosperity of a State involves several elements; climate, soil, drainage and tem- 
perature. These determine to a great degree its sanitary condition. The natural drainage of Oregon 
is as good, if not better than that of the majority of- States. The climate we have mentioned. The 
general surface of the State rolling or undulating. Swamj s and marshes or sloughs are few in num- 
ber. The soil is a loam and vegetable mold with some lime and clay. The temperature as we have 
said, is quite uniform throughout the year. 

Below we give an analysis of the weather and a comparatve table of the rainfall for the cereal 
season. This analvsis is based upon fair, actual observation of the whole day for every portion of the 
State. 

July '34, 25 pleasant days, 3 showery, 3 rainy. 

August, 30 pleasant, 1 rainy. 

September, 19 | leasant. 4 showery, 7 rainy. 

October, 21 pleasant, 7 showery, 3 rainy. 

November, 21 pleasant, 8 showery, 1 rainy. 

December, 10 pleasant, 14 showery, 6 snowy. 

January, '85, 21 pleasant, 3 showery, 1 rain, 6 snow. 

February, 10 pleasant. 11 showery, 7 rainy. 

March, 29 pleasant, 2 showery. 

April, 25 pleasant, 5 showery. 

May, 20 pleasant, 7 showery, 4 rainy. 

June, 22 \ leasant, 5 showery, 3 rainy. 

Total for year 253 pleasant days, 60 showery, 30 rainy, 22 covering snow and sleet. 

It is well enough to say that the days mentioned as showery have not been altogether unpleasant. 
On the contrary, thej- have afforded us an agreeable alteration of rain and sunshine. The average 
amount of rainfall is about '50 inches. 

FAMILY MARKET. 

Below we give the prices of necessaries, on January 28, 1886, in Portland. 

Groceries. — Eggs 15c per doz., good butter 50c per roll, choice do 60c per roll, teas, coffees, sugars 
and ether staples at lowest market rates. 

Meats. — Beef (choice roasts and steaks) 15c, round 12jc, chops 10c, corned and boiling 8c, mutton and 
lamb (best) 12§c, stew 6c, veal 122(«15e, pork 10c, sausage 12c, do (head, blood and bologna) 12^c, Frank- 
fort 20c, hams 15c, bacon 15c, shoulders 8c. lard (5 lbs) 75c, 10 lbs $1.25, 20 lbs $2.25, in bulk 12^-c per lb. 

FlSH, Game and Potltrv. — Chickens per pair 75e@§>l, spring broilers do 75c, tame ducks per pair 
$1.25, tame geese §1.25 each, turkeys per lb 18@20c, wild ducks per pair 25(575c, wild geese each 50c, 
jack rabbits each 50c, salmon per lb 8c, smelt 5c, perch and flounders 6c, oysters per pint 30(g35c, 
Baltimore in cans 75c, San Francisco ditto 50c Eastern in shell 50c per doz. 

Bakery Supplies.— Bread (lj) 22 for $1, do (1 lb 7 oz) 16 for si, graham 32 for SI, rye (1 lb 7 oz) 
16 for $1, Boston per loaf 20c, pumpernickel 25c, large rye (4?- lbs) 25c, rolls, doughnuts and buns 15c 
per doz., pound and fruit cake 50c, sponge 25c, angel 40c, soda crackers per pkg 25c, assorted fancy 
cakes 40c lb, pies and wine cake $2 per dozen. 

Fuel. — Coal, according to quality, $6, s9, sio and 812; coke S7 per ton, 50c per barrel. Wood —fir 
S3, ash $4, oak S4.50, slab SI- 50 a load; 

POPULATION OF OREGON. 

The present population of the State is about 325,000. The last 
census was taken in 1880. It is more than probable that the next 
census will show a population of 360,000 to 375,000. 

TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES. 

The prosperity and development of the State is essentially depend- 
ent upon the means of transportation. The interior railway facilities 
of Oregon are already extensive, and are to be multiplied in the im- 
mediate future. She is amply provided with exterior railway facili- 
ties; few portions of the country being more accessible, either by 
rail or by water. The Oregon and California Railway Company op- 
erate a line reaching from Portland to the southern border of the 
State. Two transcontinental lines — the Union Pacific and Oregon 



10 OREGON AS IT IS.' 

Short Line, and the Northern Pacific — both connecting with the line 
of the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company at Wallula and at 
Huntington, bring the traveller to our commercial metropolis. A 
regular line of steamships, owned by the last named company, run 
every five days between San Francisco and Portland. 

Once in Portland, the immigrant will find river and rail communi- 
cation with all parts of the State and the Pacific Northwest by these 
lines. A dozen lines of travel radiate from Portland to all portions 
of the State. 

WATERWAYS. 

In giving the facilities in this State for transportation, our rivers 
must have special mention; .water competition being of great import- 
ance. The Columbia forms the northern boundary of the State, and, 
for a distance -of more than 200 miles, is a means of travel and trans- 
portation; and almost uninterruptedly so. Upon its bosom ships and 
steamers navigate at all seasons, transporting the products of the 
State to foreign climes or domestic ports. It is an avenue of wealth 
and wonder — Oregon's highway to the sea. 

The governmant has appropriated large sums of money for the im- 
provement of this river at the Cascades, and when the work contem- 
plated is completed, this stream, with its tributaries, will be the ar- 
tery of almost unbounded commercial relations with a vast domain 
north and east of Portland, the metropolis of the State. 

The Willamette river, the largest affluent of the Columbia, flows 
through the heart of the \a\ley of the same name, and at all seasons 
of the year is navigable for steamers of 100 tons carrying capacity, 
120 miles from the mouth. The largest ocean going steamers and 
ships ascend it to the city of Portland. 

Snake river, another navigable stream, and one of the largest trib- 
utaries of the Columbia, forms the eastern boundary of Oregon, and 
separates it from the Territory of Idaho. Steamers ascend it to Lew- 
iston, a distance of 150 miles from its confluence with the Columbia. 
Along the coast, and emptying theii waters into the ocean, are the 
Rogue, Coquille, Umpqua, Siuslaw and other small streams. In the 
eastern part of the State we have the Umatilla, the Des Chutes, John 
. Day and many other smaller streams. 

It will be seen that with all these advantages of rail and waterways, 
people of Oregon are admirably situated so far as transportation is 
concerned. 

MOUNTAINS. 

The two principal ranges of mountains in the State are the Coast 
and Cascade. They extend north and south in the western part of 
the State. The Willamette Valley lies between these ranges, widest 
about 50 miles above Portland, and narrowest 150 miles to the south, 
where the ranges are united by the Calapooia watershed. In the 
midst of the Cascade range we have Mount Hood, with its elevation 
of 11,000 feet, and Mount Jefferson, 9020 feet high, as the principal 
peaks. Within view of the greater portion of the western and north- 



OREGON AS IT Is. 11 

ern portion of the State, are Mount Adams and Mount St. Helens. 
These ranges are unlike any seen east of the Rockies, and at all times 
possess a peculiar charm, and under their protecting influence the 
valleys enjoy that justly celebrated equability of temperature, and a 
much greater degree of warmth in winter and coolness in summer 
than is experienced in a similar latitude on the Atlantic coast. Dur- 
ing the greater part of the year the hills are charming in their robes 
of brightest green. The Blue mountains are in the eastern portion 
of the State; a range running north and south. The mountains are 
mostly covered with a fine growth of timber, which has, at a distance, 
the appearance of a vast forest. A closer examination shows numer- 
ous small valleys and fertile farm lands; some of the richest in the 
State. 

VALLEYS. 

The principal valley in the State is the Willamette. It is 150 miles 
in length and has an average width of about forty miles. The head 
of the valley lies about midway between the forty-third and forty- 
fourth parallels, north latitude, and extends along the one hundred 
and twenty-third meridian to the Columbia river, which, near the for- 
ty-sixth parallel, forms the northern boundary. The valley is hemmed 
in on the east side by the Cascade Mountains, on the west by the 
Coast range, and on the south by the Calapooia Mountains. The 
Cascade Eange separates it from Eastern Oregon. In the neighbor- 
hood of forty-four degrees north latitude the Coast and Cascade 
Mountain chains are united by the Calapooia spur. Throughout its 
length numerous lateral vallej^s debouch upon it. The valley contains 
an area of about 5,000,000 acres, one-fourth of which is held by ac- 
tual settlement, or used as grazing lands. The Willamette, a naviga- 
ble river, rises in the Calapooia Mountains and flows the entire length 
of the valley. Its general course is north, and in its flow gathers up 
the waters of forty- two streams, some of which are navigable for 
steamboats of ordinary size. The smaller streams are well below the 
general level of the country, making the drainage perfect. The Wil- 
lamette is not the only stream in the valley with an immense volume 
of water, but broken by verdure-clad islands, flowing through this 
" garden of the Northwest," now in deep forests, again in the midst 
of rich meadow lands, it is indeed one of the really picturesque 
streams of the continent. 

UMPQUA. 

Umpqua is another of the famous valleys of Oregon. It is north 
of the Rogue river country, and between the mountains of the Cala- 
pooia spur and the Coast range. The climate is genial and very even 
throughout the year. The Umpqua valley has an agricultural capac- 
ity equal to any we have to name here, except the Willamette and 
Umatilla. The only resemblance to a valley it presents, as a whole, 
consists in a basin-like depression which the center of the country 
forms when contrasted with the high mountains encompassing it. 
The fJalapooias on the north, Cascades on the east, Canyon and 



12 OREGON AS IT IS. 

Rogue river mountains on the south, and that portion of the Coast 
range known as the "Umpquas" on the west, hem it in with high 
walls of rock and timber. The interior of this great basin is com- 
posed of small valleys, plains, canyons, gorges and mountains. 

Formerly the Umpqua was a great stock country, but gradually its 
pastures have disappeared before the plow, and cattle have given way 
to grain; still, the stock interest is considerable. On the bottom 
lands, the excellent winter pasturage, at a season when stock on the 
Atlantic coast are being fed on hay, renders the Umpqua region es- 
pecially adapted for dairying. When the timbered portion has been 
cleared of its dense growth of trees and shrubs, the flats, hills and 
bottoms become extremely valuable for agriculture and grazing. 
The soil is good; no other could support the dense natural growth 
upon it. It is generally a dark mold, derived from the decomposi- 
tion of vegetable mattter, such as leaves, roots, fallen trees, which 
has been going on for ages, mingled in the valleys with the deposits 
brought down from the mountains in seasons of high water. A rich 
red loam is frequently met with. As a fruit-growing region, it is un- 
surpassed, and is a very desirable region ; we may say, one of the 
very best in the State, for sheep and wool production. 

ROGUE RIVER. 

Rogue River Valley lies midway between the Willamette and Sac- 
ramento valley. It is especially noted for its fruit, ranking, in this 
respect, above most of the favored places in the country. The cli- 
mate is splendid the whole year through, and the soil is prolific. 
The crops of grain and vegetables are marvelous in the eyes of the 
eastern farmer. The soil of the foothills is a quick, rich, brown 
loam, and in the valley proper, a deep, rich, black, vegetable loam. 
The valley has the best local markets and good transportation facili- 
ties. 

Rogue river flows through the country for about forty miles, and 
furnishes a fine valley of rich, sandy loam for about eighteen miles. 
The valley is from one to two miles wide for this distance, backed 
with high rolling hills, covered with an excellent growth of timber. 
Below this, the river cuts its way through the mountains to the sea, 
with but little tillable land on either side. Rogue river is a beautiful 
stream, with an average width of about 300 feet, and a depth of 
three or four feet, with a fall of ten feet to the mile. 

Williams creek and the Applegate river form a narrow valley of 
very rich land about thirty miles long. These valleys are already 
noted for their wonderful productiveness. 

Jump-off-Joe, Grave and Wolf creeks are streams of some import- 
ance, each forming small valleys of agricultural and grazing lands. 

The Illinois river, with its tributaries of Deer creek, Sucker creek 
and Althouse creek, form the valleys upon the western side of the 
county. There is upon each of these streams many acres of fine ag- 
ricultural land, much of it still covered with brush. 

There is considerable government and railroad land in this region, 



OREGON AS IT IS. 13 

mostly rolling hills and small valleys, covered with timber and brush. 
Small tracts of government land can be found by taking time to hunt 
it out. Better land can be bought for small sums, and many places 
with improvements are for sale cheap by persons who have not got 
perfect titles. Many pieces of excellent land are held here by miners 
and hunters who are not familiar with its value; as they know little 
and care less about agriculture, their places can be bought very 
reasonably. To people of small means, who are hunting desirable 
homes, this section offers many inducements. 

UMATILLA. 

Aside from the Willamette, no valley in the State attracts more at- 
tention than that through which flows the Umatilla river. It em- 
braces the famous wheat growing region of the northern portion of 
Eastern Oregon. Umatilla county is very extensive, and its agricul- 
tural capacity is simply enormous. The soil is of the richest known 
in the State, and peculiarly adapted to the production of the cereals. 
All these produce abundantly; wheat especially. Aside from this, 
the stock interest of Umatilla valley is very great. Tens of thous- 
ands of sheep and cattle are wintered in the foothills, and pasture in 
the mountains in the summer. There are half a dozen bright, active, 
thrifty towns in this famous region; good school and church inter- 
ests; good society. The immigrant who intends to follow stock-rais- 
ing, dairying, or general farming, will find all the conditions in Uma- 
tilla valley. Wheat and barley are the principal grain crops, although 
oats, corn, buckwheat, flax, etc., do well; average wheat yield per 
acre, 30 to 40 bushels. 

This region is well watered by the Umatilla river and its tributaries, 
such as Butter, Wild Horse, Birch creeks and others in the central 
portion, and the Walla Walla, Tumalum and Pine creek further 
north. There is also an abundance of springs, and water is found 
most anywhere at a depth of fifteen to sixty feet. Lying along the 
base of the Blue Mountains is a soil that in patches of 1,000 acres 
has averaged 35 bushels of wheat to the acre, while smaller fields 
have averaged 50. 

Umatilla was formerly a great stock region, but that industry has 
of late years been superseded largely by wheat raising and wool 
growing. 

GRAND RONDE, 

Another of the fertile £nd pleasantly located valleys in Oregon is 
Grand Ronde, in Union county. It contains upwards of 280,000 
acres of the best farming lands; the soil adapted to wheat, rye, oats, 
barley, and all kinds of vegetables. As a stock raising region it is 
unsurpassed. 

It is one of the most fertile valleys on the Pacific slope, well wat- 
ered, and very productive of fruit, grain, vegetables ancl hay. Wheat 
often yields from 40 to 50 bushels to the acre, and oats and barley 
from 60 to 80. Grande Ronde river flows in from the Blue Moun- 
tains and follows an exceedingly crooked channel through the valley. 



14 OREGON AS IT IS. 

There are many similar streams running down from the mountains' 
and along the foothills copious springs break forth, thus affording an 
abundance of water, which converts most of the valley into a natural 
meadow. Timber is conveniently near in the surrounding moun- 
tains. The climate is subject to greater extremes than that of the 
region west of the Blue Mountains, though the winters are not severe. 

A section of this region as yet but thinly settled is the beautiful 
Wallowa valley. The valley proper is some 40 miles long and about 
20 wide, including the arable foothills. It is attracting much atten- 
tion from immigrants looking for cheap, yet desirable lands. 

There are several small valleys in Union county. One of these, 
Indian Valley, situated north of Grand Ronde valley, is quite thickly 
settled, and is a rich grain producing section. Pine Valley is a very 
beautiful place, nestling high up in the roughest part of the Eagle 
Creek Mountains, very much isolated, but containing at present 
about two hundred families. Eagle Valley and Lower Powder River, 
in the southeastern part of the county, are places occupied by people 
who are engaged in stock raising. 

FOOTHILLS. 

The foothill farmer of Oregon is among the most prosperous in the 
State, if not on the American continent. He has exceptional advan- 
tages over his brethren in the valleys, in his facilities for stock-raising. 
He has untold acres in the upper hills for "outrange," upon which 
he can herd his stock in the summer months, and where he can, without 
difficulty, cut hay enough to feed his cattle and sheep in the short 
winter season of a few weeks. It is gratifying to state that the val- 
leys of the foothill counties of Oregon are coming to be appreciated. 
It is indisputable that the localities verging on the Cascade and Coast 
ranges are among the most productive regions of the State. The in- 
conveniences of early days have all passed away, together with the 
often rapid getting of money, and with it the alternate forced idle- 
ness. One might suppose from these facts that all the desirable land 
is already located. Not so. There is still remaining large quantities 
of land yet unentered, which, if put into its appropriate crops, is 
more desirable than any level land, mixed among tracts less valuable. 
These lands are specially suited to the man who, with patience and 
the help of his family, will soon make them into the most valuable 
in Oregon. These lands must not be confounded with high, rugged 
hills. They are the high rolling lands of the Eastern States. 

On these foothill lands he can raise grain, and the best of fruit, 
grapes and vegetables, and can always have flocks and herds of cattle. 
With the aid of sidehill plows these slopes can be utilized for raising 
grain of all kinds; while for orchards and vineyards no better lo- 
cation can be found anywhere. There is a good deal of Govern- 
ment land in these foothill regions, and some for settlement through 
the railway land departments. 



OREGON AS IT IS. 15 

AGRICULTURE. 

Oregon is pre-eminently an agricultural State, and no matter what 
inducements lie in other directions — and they are many — the essen- 
tial fact remains that the true source of Oregon's prosperity lies in 
the capacit}' of her soil to supply staples necessary to the sustenance 
of mankind. The very name, "Oregon," has become the synonym 
for superiority and plenteousness in production. Our soil is unsur- 
passed in its adaptability to the raising of grain of all kinds, and 
larger crops with less labor, than any other State in the Union. Our 
resources and possibilities are without parallel; and nowhere else in 
this country may ordinary labor achieve such exceptional triumphs. 
As regards the position which agriculture has attained, with reference 
to other States, progress has been slow, considering the matchless 
advantages of our State, Small and mixed farming is the tendency 
of the day, and the progress points to the decline of wheat raising on 
large tracts, because by this pursuit the land becomes gradually too 
valuable to devote to a crop which is liable to return to its raiser only 
$10 or $12 per acre. More lucrative pursuits will take its place, and 
these will be equally well adapted to the climate and soil. As a 
whole, the soil of Oregon is unsurpassed for its fertility, and, if we 
may be allowed the expression, its versatility; for there is scarcely 
anything that will not thrive in this State. Such is the nature of the 
soil that it successfully resists all attempts at drouth or evils from 
excessive rains to a degree that has rendered, in all the past, a fail- 
ure of crops impossible. There never has been a failure of the crops 
in Oregon since the white man came here. Farming in this State, as 
in any other, means work, but it is not as laborious here as in most 
of the States. Farm machinery of all kinds is extensively used. 
Blessed with an almost perfect drainage, plenty of water in every 
section, and well supplied with transportation facilities for carrying 
produce to a good market, Oregon, as an agricultural State, is* not 
matched by any in the Union. 

An impression has grown up elsewhere, that agriculture in Oregon 
is confined to growing wheat. This is as far from the truth as to sup- 
pose that New York's product is confined to Orange County butter. 
Here in Oregon the farmer raises wheat, oats, barley, rye and corn, 
(in the southern portion of the State chiefly) buckwheat, flax, hay, 
potatoes, hops, ruta-bagas, and almost every kind of vegetables that 
may be mentioned. While in the matter of wheat, Oregon stands at 
the head of the national class, she stands with but few equals in re- 
lation to fruit and the other productions mentioned. The area de- 
voted to flax is not large, but increasing. So with buckwheat. Sugar 
beets are among the productions. Some tobacco is being grown 
now. Turnips and sweet potatoes grow luxuriantly in every part of 
the State. No larger pumpkins and squash are found anywhere. 
The bean crop of Oregon is something almost marvelous. The grasses 
grown are not matched anywhere. Alfalfa produces three and four 
crops in Western Oregon; a growth of four or five feet high is com- 
mon. Red clover fields yield two and three crops dnring the cereal 



16 OREGON AS IT IS. 

season, and a very common height is four and five feet, White clover 
also grows luxuriantly. Supriority can be claimed for timothy, red 
top, and a dozen other kinds of grasses. 

WHAT CAN I DO? 

Among the letters of inquiry which possess a characteristic, is that 
in which some one, farming in the East writes after this fashion 
"What can I do in your State with the money coming from a farm 
here, worth $2000, or $3000, towards making better provision for my 
children." 

To such we say, you can double your acreage; you can double if 
not treble your profits ; you can locate at once in the midst of ex- 
cellent social, school and church interests; you can increase your 
chances of health, and you will not have to do, more than half as 
much, or half as hard work, as you do now. Of course we are speak- 
ing of the farmer who lives, in a State where the cyclone or blizzard 
is a conspicuous visitor; where he has to feed stock four or five 
months of the year, where, as in Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minni- 
sota, Dakota, Kansas or Nebraska, the winters are long and tedious 
as well as expensive. 

GARDENS AND ORCHARDS. 

The garden vegetables cultivated in Oregon embrace all the 
ordinary varieties known to the table; peas, beans, tomatoes, egg 
plant, pie plant, cucumbers', onions, asparagus, parsnips, carrots, 
radishes, beets, cabbages, cauliflowers, potatoes, water melons, can- 
telopes, musk melons, citrons, and the like. The growth of all of 
these vegetables, as well as the flavor, cannot be excelled. 

It has long since been fully demonstrated that Oregon is among 
the best, if not the best fruit growing Stnte in the Union, and the 
beauty and flavor of her orchard products have never been surpassed. 
This is not only true of apples, but of pears quinces, plums, prunes, 
cherries, peaches and the smaller fruits. Fruit trees will grow from 
five to seven feet the first year; bear fruit the second, third and fourth 
years, according to variety. They thrive in the valleys as well as on 
the foothills, and up to a considerable height in the mountains, but 
especially in dry, sheltered soil. Yearling prune, peach and plum 
trees, eight feet high, and yearling cherry trees seven feet high, have 
been exhibited. Apple trees commence bearing very young, some- 
times producing fine fruit the second year after grafting; and, if 
properly cultivated, are always in bearing when four or five years 
old. Our fruit is large, highly colored and of the most delicious 
flavor. This is especially true of the prunes. It is free from the 
apple worm and the bitter rot, and keeps remarkably well, many 
varieties lasting through the whole year. Pears also grow in great 
perfection. The trees begin to bear when remarkably young, and 
are exceedingly healthy and vigorous, and being entirely free from 
diseases, will live to a great age. The trees are very productive and 
the fruit highly flavored. Pears have been grown weighing over 



OREGON AS IT IS. 17 

three pounds. Oregon is the very Eden for cherries, plums and 
prunes. Strawberries, currants, raspberries and goosberries, of a 
fine quality, are raised in abundance. Several of the hardier varie- 
ties of grapes are successfully cultivated. Among the smaller fruits 
we have the blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, goosberries and 
currants. In the Southern part of the State we may add, figs, hard 
and soft shell almonds, nectarines, apricots quince and English 
walnuts. 

In many portions of the State, grapes seem to have found their 
natural element. In Southern Oregon corn matures, hard and sound, 
and keeps well. Sugar corn is grown and broom corn is successfully 
cultivated. 

STOCK RAISING. 

The business of cattle growing has assumed immense proportions 
in this State; confined (on a large scale) as it is, chiefly to the 
Eastern portions of the State. With its unsurpassed prairie or 
bunch grass lands, watered with numberless streams, with everything 
favorable in climate, food and range, Oregon offers a splendid field 
for cattle growing. The Eastern is essentially a grass growing 
section, and is especially adapted to the rearing of beef cattle for 
the markets. But while a great number of our people are busy in 
. stock raising, as many are interested in stock breeding. In one 
way and another the improvement of stock of all kinds has been 
stimulated, and in this way hundreds of thousands of dollars are 
being added to the value of cattle, horses, hogs and sheep in this 
State. Not only is it paying in money, but it is satisfying a laudable 
pride. A good many write to inquire as to the opportunities for a 
man with two or three thousand dollars to go into the stock busi- 
ness. In the foothills of nearly all of the valley counties, he can 
buy a ranch at very low figures, say $7 to $8 an acre, upon which 
there are some improvements, and from which he can have an 
"outrange" for his stock. This is the most practicable and profit- 
able way for this class. They can raise grain, fruit, vegetables, etc., 
and still make stock the chief business. They are close to market, 
and in the midst of the advantages of civilization. 

OTHER FEATURES. 

Perhaps wheat will always be the chief staple production of Oregon, 
but not the only one. Meadow and pasture can be adapted to the 
farm in such a manner as to yield a fair revenue, especially the first, 
and answer the purpose that our people too often lose sight of — to 
sustain and even improve the fertility of the soil. There is no need 
that the soil should become worn out when stock raising of all kinds, 
and sheep husbandry, can be made reliable sources of profit. The 
farmer who keeps a few choice mares and cows, and breeds them ju- 
diciously, can make them pay well. Here, though land is valuable, 
sheep can be used to some extent as scavengers, also to sustain the 
fertility, and their wool and increase will make rapid and satisfactory 
returns. 



18 OREGON AS IT IS. 

Poultry can be made to pay well, for we have good markets for 
eggs and fowls. This is already done, but could be better done than 
it is, and made more of a regular business. Almost every housewife 
will tell the reader that she pays on an average, 55 cents for chickens, 
and about 25 cents a dozen for eggs. For other kinds of poultry 
the prices are proportionately high. She finds it necessary to pay 
about 30 cents a pound for good butter. Nothing pays better when 
pruperly carried on than dairying, as one branch of the farm work. 

Growing and curing pork is another branch of farm income ; sel- 
dom encouraged, but profitable even in a small way. All last fall 
and winter meat packers paid eight cents per pound for good hogs. 
There is not a single thing in the condition of our climate, or our 
productions, to enforce this import of pork. We have the proper 
feed out of which to make good pork ; and we do make some, but 
not enough. Hams, bacon and lard are largely shipped here from 
Chicago, all of which could be easily cured at home. 

Bee keeping is an attractive and profitable business. There are a 
great variety of honey-producing flowers in every part of the State, 
and it would be difficult to find, in Western or Southern Oregon, a 
season when the bees might not be pasturing. 

GAME, 

It would be difficult to find a better field for the sportsman than 
Oregon, In all the valleys of the State, deer, pheasant, grouse, 
quail, snipe — the last four of unusual size —abound. In the fall, 
wild geese and ducks swarm along the water courses. Wild swan 
are very numerous on the lakes and rivers of Southeastern Oregon. 
In the sage districts of the latter region, the sage-hen makes its 
home.- The Cascade and the Coast ranges and the minor chains 
are frequented by elk, deer and antelope in great numbers, as also 
by yellow and silver foxes, mink and martin. Black, cinnamon 
and grizzly bear, wildcat, wolf and the cougar, roam in these moun- 
tains. Of the larger game, however, only deer visit the inhabited 
portions of the State. 

PRICE OF LAND. 

A good deal of observation and inquiry inclines to the belief 
that the average price of improved land in Oregon is about $16 to 
$30 per acre, for that which ranks among the best. Unimproved land 
in the valleys is estimated at from $5 to $15 per acre, though large 
tracts are for sale at a much lower figure — as low as $6 per acre. 
Improved land in the foothills is worth from $8 to $15 per acre, 
and this is among the best in the State for a man of small means. 
There are a great many considerations going to affect the price 
of land, such as remoteness or proximity to large towns, and the 
market and transportation facilities, the kind of soil, whether there 
are improvements — such as fences, barns and houses. Thus, one 
might go south from Portland, say sixty-five miles, and find splendid 
parcels of land at from $30 to $40 per acre, and within five miles 



OREGON AS IT IS. 19 

of these* bodies of land, and still in proximity to transportation, 
market and the like, find excellent land offered at from $10 to $20 
per acre, or even less. All of this land is well watered, and most 
of it partially timbered. Indeed, locate where he will in the Wil- 
lamette Valley, or in Southern or in Eastern Oregon, the immi- 
grant cannot go amiss of all the conditions for successful farming. 

TIMBER LANDS. 

The timber lands lie mainly upon the interior slopes of the moun- 
tain ranges. The extent of this timber belt is very great; upon the 
western slope of the Cascades it is perhaps twenty miles wide, and 
runs the full length of the range. 

Of the timbered lands, the best trees are found at medium eleva- 
tions, and are accessible by ordinary logging roads. They have a 
value dependent upon their nearness to market, or to streams of 
sufficient size to float their logs. The land is worth, for the trees 
alone, from five to fifty dollars per acre, depending upon the size and 
number of trees. " Stumpage, " or the price of standing timber, is 
usually one dollar, or one dollar and a half per thousand feet, board 
measure. The principal trees found on low lands are the fir, pine, 
yew, ash, oak, maple, balm and alder; on the hills there are scatter- 
ing oaks and firs, while in the mountain regions grow the firs, 
pine, spruce, hemlock, cedar, larch and madrone, with more or less 
undergrowth, depending on the altitude We have, also, the birch, 
willow, manzanita, elder, black haw, service berry and juniper. We 
have a few nut-bearing trees. On the Calipooia mountains there is a 
specie of chesnut, very small, and not of much account. Hazel 
bushes, bearing over plenty. Acorn oaks are common in some*por- 
tions of the State. Black walnuts and hickory nuts have been 
raised from the seed. 

Few States in the Union have a larger proportionate area of valu- 
able timber lands than Oregon. In the past, outside a few locations, 
comparative^ little value has been attached to the timber in our for- 
ests; but in recent years it has rapidly appreciated in value. The 
oak and ash is coming into use as wagon-making material. There 
is a steady and increasing demand for Port Orford cedar. White 
cedar, laurel, ash, sugar pine and maple are largely used in the 
manufacture of furniture. 

MINERAL RESOURCES. 

Among the many great attractions which Oregon offers, the mineral 
resources and products are of really vast importance in summing up 
the wealth of the State. The mineral deposits are mostly confined 
to the eastern counties of Grant, Baker and Union, the southern tier 
of Jackson, Josephine, Curry and Coos. Various geological surveys, 
and some practical working of veins, have made known the fact that 
in Douglas, Coos and Curry counties, we have coal deposits which 
are of vast extent. The coal interest in this section is' assuming 



20 OREGON AS IT IS. 

very large proportions and bids fair soon to equal most of the 
leading industries of the State. 

Marble is another, and a rich deposit recently added to the list. 
The layers are of good thickness and the marble is hard, free from 
checks, seams and defects, and susceptible of a high finish. It 
shows a variety of colors. 

Clay for pottery and brick, as well as drain pipe and tile is found 
to exist in many parts of the State. 

Iron ores, bog, hematite and magnetic, exist in masses, and may be 
easily obtained. It abounds on the Columbia River, extending from 
a point opposite Kalama, southward almost to the falls of the Wil- 
lamette River. It is also found in large deposits in the counties of 
Columbia, Tillamook, Marion, Clackamas, Jackson and Coos. Smelt- 
ing furnaces are located eight miles south of Portland. 

Deposits of rich copper ore exist at various points, notably on the 
line of the Oregon and California Railroad in Southern Oregon. 
Lead, zinc, tin, cinnabar, plumbago, gypsum, granite, limestone and 
sandstone is also found. In various, and easily accessible portions 
of the State, building stones are found in ample beds for all demands. 
Light colored limestone, and olive brown sandstone are plenty. 
Good glass sand is found at several points in the State. Building 
sand is abundant. 

Gold mining is one of the principal industries of Baker, Grant and 
Union counties, while other counties in Eastern Oregon do consider- 
able in this direction. In these counties the gold and silver ledges, 
and gold placers are annually yielding large returns. Copper ore 
has been found in good working quantities, but no ledge of that 
metal has been much developed. The placer mines have yielded 
richly. Baker City is about the center of the mining section in 
Eastern Oregon, nearly all the mines being within a radius of sixty 
miles of that place. 

Gold was first discovered in Jackson and Josephine counties in 
1851. Perhaps the entire quantity obtained in the State during the 
last thirty years has not been less than $40,000,000, more than half 
of which is to be credited to the first decade in which gold mining 
was prosecuted. The more prominent mining camps of this section 
are Wolf creek, Grave creek, Galice creek, Silver creek, Josephine 
creek, Applegate, Williams, Althouse and Sucker creeks. Coarse 
gold predominates in all these camps. Waldo is also another promi- 
nent camp. It may be said that the chief mineral deposits of the 
country, so far as discovery goes, consist of gold, silver, copper, 
chrome, platinum, cinnabar and nickel. There have been many 
quartz, copper, cinnabar and chrome lodes discovered. Galice creek, 
Althouse, Sucker creek, Slate creek, Wolf creek, Deer creek and the 
tributaries to the Illinois river, also Williams creek, are known to be 
rich with gold-bearing quart, z The mining of Josephine county has 
been conducted with labor, for it is but recently that capital and 
machinery found their way into the mines. 

The southern portion of Coos, and the eastern portion of Curry 



OREGON AS IT IS. 21 

county, embraces a large part of the great mineral belt from which 
Southwestern Oregon and Northwestern California have been draw- 
ing immense wealth ever since the first settlement of that region. 

Below we give a short report of the Pine creek valley mines in 
the Eastern part of Oregon. 

It is not anticipated that this report will dwell upon the examina- 
tion of any particular ledge or opening. Forty-nine openings were 
visited and samples from a large number are before you. The dis- 
trict near Cornicopia, on the slope of Granite peaks toward Pine 
creek are not to be confounded in question of location, formation, 
ease of approach and character of ores with those in what may be 
termed "District of the Eagle creeks," situated south and west of the 
peaks. 

The mines or ledges (more properly quartz ledges in granite,) 
project through the granite in lines nearly parallel to base of moun- 
tains, and are clearly visible to the naked eye at a distance. Project- 
ing from the granite at different altitudes all dip toward the iron 
dykes behind and above them from thirty-five to forty-three degrees 
from horizontal planes. In what is termed the "basin" the duration 
of the gold bearing ledges must be measured by their distance from 
the dykes, toward which they trend and which stands above them, 
apparently unaffected by the elements. 

It cannot be disputed that the peculiar position of these ledges 
and their great altitude are serious questions affecting their working 
and longevity. 

If the mineral belt was confined to the locality thus far described, 
the measure of development would not, in my judgment, give that 
certainty of a future required by purpose of visit. 

This must be an individual opinion, in view of the fact that some 
three or four openings have been bonded, conditional upon future 
developments, for prices that do not rule in a new mining camp. 

Leaving the Granite Peaks and mines on the right and ascending 
Elk creek, one finds, to his left, a different formation, with encourag- 
ing mining development embraced in undisturbed formations. Pass- 
ing over the divide separating the waters of Pine creek from the 
Eagle and other creeks, a new field of strong character is before us. 

The openings examined give promise of certainty, and are well 
situated as to working, etc. The lodes exposed are more truly 
mineral in their character than those of Granite peaks, and already 
sufficient in number to insure a large and permanent camp. The 
limestone in question has been hauled to Silver City and Boise, as 
well as used in vicinity for smelting. 

As yet nothing has been done in sinking shafts, etc., upon which 
to predict the future value of any one opening. As a whole the 
district to which your attention has been called presents more of 
value than any coming under my observation with so little develop- 
ment. That there is sufficient to cause an extensive and thorough 
working the coming season there is no doubt. 

Aside from the mines visited at this time by Gen. Tannat, there are 



22 OREGON AS XT IS. 

many'and very valuable mining interests in that district of country. 
A few'miles south of Baker City there are a number of mining districts. 
The Virtue mine situated eight miles southeast of Baker City, free 
milling ore, will average about $30 per ton. The Granite creek dis- 
trict, about 40 miles from Baker City, and in almost a westerly direc- 
tion of the mines, one of the most promising is the Cable lode, 
three and a half feet wide, free milling, and will work 70 in gold and 
silver. Adjoining is the Minnie mine, owned by Loures & Flariety, 
free milling ore three feet wide, and will mill $80 per ton. Next, the 
Buffalo, owned by Beagle Bros.; this mine has a tunnel of 130 feet, 
which taps a good, permanent vein 30 inches wide, and will mill $75 
per ton. Next the Standard, owned by H. McCann; little developed, 
but promising to be a good mine. The Maggie is of good size 
and considerable note. The Sun Set, the Sun Rise, the Monumental, 
the Morning Glory, and within an area of ten miles square, there is 
a perfect network of ledges All these lodes, are being worked by 
arastras, and pay well for that slow process of working. 

These county limits do not mark the boundaries of the gold and 
silver bearing counties, in what we call Eastern Oregon. Within the 
area of Union, Grant Crook and Wasco counties, the precious metals 
are found; plentiful at certain localities, and mining is carried on 
with more or less activity. It vwould be impossible in our 
space to give a detailed account of these interests. We can only 
make the above reference to them, and say, that the region is large, 
the yield satisfactory, the field open to all, and with the newer and 
more practical machinery and appliances for working the mines, and 
extracting the metal, the business will be in the immediate future, a 
chief one in the Eastern part of the State, giving profitable employ- 
ment to thousands of people, furnishining a good local market for 
all farm products, and in ever way building up and making pros- 
perous these communities and finally the State. 

EDUCATIONAL INTERESTS. 

The value of a State as an immigration field does not altogether 
consist in the material wealth exhibited; nor does it consist of fer- 
tile fields with maivelous harvests, or in manufactured articles, but 
in these and in the institutions which she founds and fosters for the 
moral and intellectual training of her children. There is no subject 
connected with our progress and prosperity in which the people have 
taken a deeper interest than that of education. And they are mani- 
festly and justly proud of their educational institutions. No State 
in the Union makes a more generous provision for its public schools, 
or has a more complete or effective system; and among the attractions 
of this State and the inducements it holds out to the intending emi- 
grant of the old world or our own States, none are more worthy of 
attention than these facilities for popular education. The educa- 
tional system embraces the three departments: The common schools, 
the normal schools and the State University. The Willamette Uni- 
versity is located at Salem, the capital of the State, and is in a flour- 



OREGON AS IT IS. 23 

ishing condition, with a full corps of professors and teachers. The 
Pacific University is located at Forest Grove, and is supported by en- 
dowments. McMinnville College is at McMinnville. Collegiate Insti- 
tute at Albany. The State University is located at Eugene City, and the 
Corvallis College at Corvallis, to which is attached the State Agricul- 
tural College. The State Normal Schools are supported by appro- 
priations from a general fund, and are free to all who desire to be- 
come teachers in the public schools of the State. The especial pride 
of the people is the public school system. The most remote and 
thinly populated districts have all the advantages of the public 
school system. Under this management the progress of these schools 
has been rapid, steady, and wholly gratifying. New districts are 
formed each year, and nothing is left to hap-hazard or incompetent 
management. The head of a family who brings his children, and 
comes to cast his lot among us, need have no fear of failing in his 
duty to them in respect to education. They will find schools', and 
the best. As to the schools and educational facilities in Portland, 
they are among the best. Much attention is given to the manage- 
ment of our State charitable and reformatory institutions, which are 
among the very best in the country. 

SOCIAL, MORAL AND RELIGIOUS INFLUENCES. 

The church interest is a dominant one in Oregon, and without mar- 
shaling any statistical figures or making comparisons, a fair account 
will be highly honorable to our people. Like all States on the west 
slope of the Rockies, Oregon has attached to herself a diversified 
population, whose characteristics, in respect to social, moral, or re- 
ligious usages, are as various as the lands and States of their birth. 
Oregon, in a religious sense, ranks well with many of the older 
States. There is scarcely a community or locality, no matter how is- 
olated, but has its house of worship and a large and growing mem- 
bership. In the cities and towns of the State the church edifices are 
commodious and handsome structures, and the pulpits are occupied 
by some of the most able ministers of the country. 

ODD ENDS. 

The Board of Immigration Commissioners have an arrangement 
with the Oregon and California railroad by which the new-comer can 
go over the line on the east side (of the Willamette), to Ashland, 341 
miles, or any intermediate point, or on the west side to Corvallis, 97 
miles, or intermediate stations, at a greatly reduced rate of fare, and 
enjoy the advantage of a stop over at any or all stations, for a period 
of 30 or 60 days. There are no. conditions; nothing contingent on 
this ticket. Neither the company nor the State asks the new-comer 
to buy property, but extends this ticket as an inducement to get him 
to look over Oregon. It is issued in order that the immigrant may 
become intelligently acquainted with this part of the State. In ad- 
dition, the Secretary of the Board issues to each new-comer a card, 
introducing him by name to the agent of the County Board of Im- 



24 



OREGON AS IT IS. 



migration, whose duty it is - to show land and afford all assistance 
possible, and without charge. 

The immigrant coming west over the line of the Oregon Short Line 
through Eastern Oregon, and by the Northern Pacific and by the Or- 
egon Railway and Navigation Company lines, on the way to Port- 
land, has the privilege of a ten days stop over, at points he may se- 
lect on the route. 

At the rooms of the Immigration Board, in the city of Portland, 
which are adjoining the dock where the immigrant leaves the transfer 
boat, will always be found the Secretary, or an assistant, charged 
with the duty of imparting without charge, information in general or 
in detail, issuing reduced rate tickets, showing specimen productions 
of the State, and looking after the interests of the stranger, in every 
possible direction. The immigrant has only to be frank and candid 
in order to get frank, candid, helpful information and assistance. 

The reduction obtained by the immigrant is about 40 per cent. 
The following are the reduced rates to the points named : 



EAST SIDE. 



Single 
Trip. 

Oregon City % 45 

Salem 1 60 

Albany 2 40 

Lebanon 2 70 

Harrisburg 3 15 

Eugene City 3 70 



Hillsboro % 65 

Forest Grove 75 

Yamhill 1 20 



Round 
Trip. 
$ 90 

3 

4 

5 



20 

80 
40 



6 30 

7 40 



Single 
Trip. 

Drain % 4 85 

Oakland 5 45 

Roseburg 5 95 

Grant's Pass.. 8 90 

Medford 9 85 

Ashland 10 25 



WEST SIDE. 



$1 30 

1 50 

2 40 



McMinnville $1 50 

Independence.... 2 30 
Corvallis 2 90 



Round 

Trip. 

$ 9 70 

10 90 

11 90 
17 80 

19 50 

20 50 



$3 00 

4 60 

5 80 



Trains leave Portland morning and evening. The tickets are for 
first class cars; none other on this road. 

The land department of the Oregon and California, the Oregon 
Railway and Navigation Company, and the Northern Pacific Rail- 
road Companies are near by or adjacent to the rooms of the Board. 

At the rooms, the immigrant will find a file of the State papers, 
and a display of all the productions of the State. Besides these, he 
will find on record a list of about 1000 farms of all kinds, from 
which he can make a selection, and to the owner of which he will be 
sent. 

Persons who are looking towards Oregon as a future home, and 
are still in doubt as to what part of the State they would like, can 
get full, impartial and truthful information, by letter or by word of 
mouth, by addressing the Secretary. 

People often write to inquire if it will pay to bring cattle from 
Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, and other States, to Oregon, as 



OREGON AS IT IS. 25 

a part of the general move. It will not pay, unless the cattle are of a 
choice breed, and are fine specimens of their kind. The new-comer 
will find a goodly number of magnificent cattle in this State, and on 
the ranges any number of beef cattle, cows, etc. 

TRAIN TIME. 

Trains for Eastern Oregon leave Portland at 3 p. m. Transfer boat 
from Ash Street dock. 

Trains for Willamette Valley and Southern Oregon. East side 
leave Portland 7:30 a. m. West side at 9 a. m. 

West side local train for McMinnville and way stations 5 p. m. 

East side, Albany and Lebanon at 4 p. m. 

Train for Kalama leave Portland at 11 a. m. 

O. R. & N. Boats for Astoria or the Upper Columbia leave at 6 and 
7 a. m. Ash Street dock. 

The following are third class rates from prominent Eastern cities to 
Portland, Oregon, via the Northern Pacific. These rates are more or 
less subject to change, but it is not likely that they will be any higher: 



From Buffalo 52 75 

Philadelphia 57 25 

Washington, D. C... 49 75 

Cleveland, Ohio 49 75 

Detroit, Mich 47 75 

St. Louis, Mo 42 50 

Indianapolis 47 25 

Kansas City 39 75 

Wheeling, W. Va... 51 65 



From New York..... #58 75 

Pittsburg, Pa 52 75 

Baltimore, Md 56 75 

Cincinnati, Ohio 47 80 

Columbus, Ohio 50 05 

Chicago, 111 41 75 

Nashville, Tenn 50 90 

St. Paul or Minneap- 
olis 35 00 

New Orleans $66 00 

The following are emigrant rates to Portland, via the Union Pacific 

Railway and Oregon Short Line: 

From Chicago $4*75 

St. Louis 42 50 

New York 69 50 

Denver, Col 35 00 

Pittsburg, Pa 52 75 

Wheeling, W. Va 51 65 

Omaha, Council Bluffs, St. Joseph and Ft. Leavenworth. 35 00 

The rates via both N. P. and U. P. are the same, except from St. Paul and Omaha. 

PROPERTY AND TAXATION. 

To the intending settler, the question of taxation is one of vital 
interest. Oregon does not claim to have devised anything like a per- 
fect system of assessment and taxation, but taking the present mode, 
and the recent changes and revisions by the legislative committee ap- 
pointed for the purpose, and whose work will no doubt become the law 
within the next twelve months, and the State may justly hold, that in 
respect to all the advantages of this feature of the mysticism of finances, 
she does not lose anything by comparison with other States. While 
there is a slight difference in the rate of taxation in the counties, 
14 mills may be given as the average, throughout the State. 



•26 OKEGON AS IT IS. 

The assessment, under the present law, is on a basis of about 55 per 
cent, of the full valuation of property. If the report of the legislative 
committee is adopted, this per cent, will.be increased perhaps 28 or 30 
per cent., and the rate lowered to something like 6 or 8 mills. 

WHO SHOULD COME. 

General advice can be given only as to the classes of immigrants. 
The application of this advice to special cases must be the business of 
each individual himself. The same qualities are necessary to success 
here as elsewhere. Any other notion will lead to disappointment. No 
one should think of immigrating without sufficient means for self-support 
for a six months at least, after reaching the objective point; for suit- 
able employment immediately after arrival can not always be relied 
on. This caution applies particularly to heads of families, who would 
be cruelly derelict in their duty to expose those depending on them to 
the risk of destitution on arrival. Families who contemplate settling 
on Government lands will require, after providing for all traveling ex- 
penses, from $500 to $800, with which to meet the cost of putting up 
a house, for live stock, seed, farming implements, provisions, etc. 

Good health is the first requisite of a. person who proposes to emi- 
graet to a new country, with a view of improving his condition in life. 
Although the climate of Oregon is so favorable as to insure exemption 
from many diseases which prevail in other States, and to promise relief 
in other ailments, the chances are that immigration will prove a mistake 
in the case of confirmed invalids who are compelled to work for a 
living. 

Generally speaking, persons accustomed to ordinary and mechanical 
labor, and who unite frugal habits with persevering industry, will run 
the least risk in immigrating; but individuals unwilling to work, or 
accustomed to live by their wits, are not wanted. Idlers will only go 
from bad to worse, and adventurers will not prosper. It requires 
health, labor, courage and persistence to succeed here, as elsewhere. 
Oregon is the most unsuitable and unhealthy place, on earth, perhaps, 
for the man who has not been "brought up" to anything in particular; 
who is merely a help-eat, in life. We can not, at present, encourage 
the immigration of more professional men — -such as lawyers, doctors, 
surveyors and civil engineers — unless they have money beyond the 
expected earnings of their profession, and are prepared to take their 
chances after arrival. Clerks, shopmen, or those having no particular 
trade or calling, and men not accustomed to work with their hands, if 
without means of their own, would probably meet with disappoint- 
ment, and perhaps hardships. A great many write to ask, if a me- 
chanic, with a few hundred dollars, wonld be justified in relinquishing 
a steady job where he is, and coming to Oregon. We say, no. If a 
man has a good paying, steady job, he ought not to let go of it for an 
uncertainty. If he wants to branch out, and invest money in a 
business for himself, then he can come, and with safety. Oregon 
offers him an ample and. profitable field. As a rule the professions are 
all over-stocked in Oregon. There are certainly, more lawyers, real 



H*» 



OKEGON AS IT IS. 27 

estate agents, doctors and editors than are needed. Judging by the 
letters coming here, a great many people East have an idea that is a 
new country; it is comparatively, but there are book-keepers, clerks, 
stenographers and all that class of people, being supplied by the schools 
and stores in this State. Trade is also fully represented. There are 
stores enough of all kinds. Nobody here has over-looked the easy 
ways of earning a living. 

To farmers' sons, or persons with moderate means, qualified for the 
life of a settler in this country, who can not see openings in older 
States — who can not go up, because the passages are blocked; who can 
not go down, because their habits and pride forbid — the varied 
resources of the country would seem to promise certain success, if they 
avoid drink and are industrious and patient. 

Farmers themselves, with limited capital, who are uneasy about their 
future, and that of their children, and are prepared to immigrate, should 
consider the advantages which Oregon affords, irrespective of the 
climate, which must be attractive to all. They should have at least 
sufficient capital to be independent for twelve months. It is often best 
for the lather to go out and pave the way for the little iolks. 

Girls for housework, if capable and willing, can find immediate 
employment at any time during the present year. Places are open in 
Portland and vicinity at this date May 30, for 200 such girls. The 
wages paid range from $15 to $30 per month. 

COMMERCIAL. 

Portland is the chief city in the State, and has a population of about 
35,000 people. It is the commercial metropolis of the Pacific North- 
west — and the basis from which to speak of the chief commercial 
interests. The city, configuration of which is pleasant to the eye of 
the ordinary traveler, for the man considering it in a business sense, 
has all the conditions which favor growth and prosperity. All these 
combine here in a more than ordinary degree; the capacity of the 
place for development and expansion is almost unlimited, and the sur- 
rounding region, rich in but partially utilized agricultural facilities in 
a continually enlarging market for supplies. It has its own intrinsic 
force, and it has a great and successful future. The city is on the 
north-west bank of the Willamette river, ten miles from its junction 
with the Columbia, 120 miles from the Pacific Ocean, to which it is 
navigable. In latitude. 45 degrees and longitude 122 degrees West. 
South of Portland lies the great Willamette agricultural valley, 150 
miles long by 50 miles broad, named the "Garden of Oregon," nar- 
rowing itself as it approaches Portland, so that the three separate rail- 
roads coming from the Willamette with the river of that name between, 
are so concentrated, by natural features, that they approach within 
one mile of each other before they reach the city. West of Portland 
is the Pacific ocean 120 miles distant, to and from which by the Wil- 
lamette and Columbia rivers, ocean steamers and ships drawing 22 feet 
arrive and depart for China and all European ports. It is the western 
gateway of the Pacific Northwest, and to this is added the artificial 



28 OREGON AS IT IS. 

arteries created by the construction of the railways in this section of 
the common country. 

The following table shows the number of business houses and corpora- 
tions of the several classes in Portland. It includes such branch 
houses as have actual establishments, and are engaged in active business 
here, excluding those which are merely represented by agents having 
an office. Incorporated banks are not included, but private banking 
houses are. Such corporations only are mentioned as make Portland 
their bona fide headquarters and the central point for the expenditure 
of their capital. 



Capital. No. 

40,000 to $ 75,000 45 

75,0OO " 125,000 29 

125,000 " 200,000., 15 

200,000 " 300,000 6 



Capital. No. 

; 300,000 to $ 500,000 7 

500,000 " 750,000 1 

750,000 " 1,000,000 4 

1,000,000 and upward 14 



The capital above represented aggregates considerably upwards of 
$40,000,000, exclusive of the assets of the largest of our corporations. 

In the year 1882, the volume of business was estimated to exceed 
$30,000,000; in 1883, it had increased to $53,000,000 by extensions 
to Montana and the north; and in 1884 the increase was something 
remarkable. 

In summing up the business for 1885 the following figures are given. 
Value of exports, domestic by rail and water, $8,373,390; foreign, $5,- 
907,271; receipts of wheat for the year, 5,825,136 centals, and of flour, 
344,821 barrels; wheat and flour, exported of the value of $7,395,244; 
wool, shipments of 11,558,427 pounds, valued at $1,637,936; hop, 
shipments of 5,561,381 pounds, .valued at $451,462; a gain in exports 
to all sources over 1884, of $2,347,819; a grain fleet of 113 vessels, 
registering 114,821 tons, carrying 182,353 short tons of wheat and 
flour; a salmon pack of 551,600 cases, nearly all sent out. 

During the eight years ending June, '85, Portland has constructed 
2,854 separate buildings, which unitedly cost $11,926,175; all within 
the city proper, excluding Albina, East Portland and the suburbs. In 
1877 only $320,000 was spent on 109 new buildings; in 1879, $1,162,- 
706 on 385 buildings; in 1881, $1,150,075 on 353 separate buildings 
and in 1882, $5,469,600 on 444 buildings, while during 1883, $3,618,- 
550 were spent on 398 buildings. Then came the reaction of 1884, 
when the construction of only 193 buildings of the value of $1,683,600 
was undertaken. These figures however demonstrate that the city's 
building progress from 1877 to 1884, kept pace with the development 
of the country through internal railroad constructions. 

The rolling mills, the Portland Flouring Mills, together with river 
steam-boat, ship building, several large saw mills and four large foun- 
dries and machine works are the principal manufacturing industries in 
and near Portland. Except the rolling mills and furnaces, they 
employ 1,355 men and turned out products of the value of $3,044,000 
in 1884. Although possessing an increasing agricultural trade, there 
has not yet been established the manufacture of agricultural imple- 
ments. In the minor industries Portland employs 350 hands in cloth- 



OREGON AS IT IS. 



29 



ing, realizing products valued at^ $500,000; carriages and'wagons and 
carts, 230 hands, value $250,000. In the manufacture of furniture, 
420 hands, realize $590,000; carpentering 300 hands, producing $300,- 
000, while in making boots and shoes, Portland employs 153 hands, 
selling goods worth $105,000. Its brick works, bakeries, including 
cracker factories, rope works, soap works, candy, fruits and confec- 
tioneries employ 595 hands; yielding products valued at $880,000. 
One noticeable feature is printing and publishing, employing 375 hands 
and turning out work of the value of $810,000. The miscellaneous 
industries, blacksmithing, bookbinding, brass foundries, box making, 
coffee works, cooperage, dying and cleaning works, artificial ice works, 
jewelry, plumbing and gas fitting, saddlery and harness making and 
stoves, employ together 495 hands, and turn out products of the value 
of $1,040,000. The aggregate of all our manufacturing establishments 
for '84 was about $18,000,000. 

The salmon interest is one of the chief industries in the|State. The 
Chinook salmon in the Columbia river is the finest. In '71, 30,000 
cases realized $150,000. In '73, 51,000. In 1877 we export 388,508 
cases, receiving therefor $2,338,000. The catch of 1877 alarmed the 
fishermen. Last year however, we reached our maximum production, 
having packed 672,350 cases which realized to our people $3,025,575. 

Since the opening of the Oregon Short Line, fresh salmon are ex- 
ported to the Eastern States in refrigerator cars. 

Salmon trout are wonderfully prolific in every stream, and too easy 
to catch to render it good sport. Oyster fisheries exist at Shoalwater 
and Yaquina bays, and employ schooners in transporting the oysters 
to San Francisco and Portland. There are two factories at Astoria 
for making oil from the salmon refuse. 

The following figures indicate a good average year's business. The 
number of hands employed is not given, as they have varied in num- 
ber so greatly in many establishments that accurate figures were diffi- 
cult to obtain: 



Awnings, sails and tents. . 
Babbitt metal, solder, etc. 
Bags 



Value of 



Blacksmithing .' 

Bookbinding 

Boots and shoes 

Boxes, packing 

Brass and copper work 

Bakerv and bakery products 

Brick 

Brooms and brushes 

Carpentering 

Cariages and wagons 

Cars 

Clothing 

Coffee and spices 

Confectionery 

Cordage andtwine 

Drugs and chemicals 

Flouring and grist mill products. 

Foundry and machine work 

Fruits and vegetables, canned... 

Furniture 

Furs 

Gas 

Ice, artificial 



product. 

S 70,00<» 

30,000 

200,000 

150,000 

50,000 

100,000 

60.000 

10,000 

300.000 

60,000 

50,000 

150,000 

200,000 

100,000 

450,000 

150,000 

170.000 

80,000 

20,000 

1,000,000 

500,000 
50,')00 

450,000 
16,000 

300.000 
35,000 



Value of product. 

Jewelry 12o,000 

Liquors, malt 350,000 

Lumber, planed 500,000 

Lumber, sawed 900,000 

Marble and stone work 30,000 

Milinery 100,000 

Mineral waters " 25,0*^> 

Painting and paper hanging 100,000 

Paints " 20,000 

Paving and building stone 145,000 

Photography 50,000 

Plumbing and gas fitting 200,000 

Printing and publishing 850.000 

Roofing and materials 80,000 

Saddlery and harness 150.000 

Ship building 100,000 

Show cases 25,000 

Slaughtering and meat packing 8u0,000 

Soap 100,000 

Tinware, etc 100,000 

Tobacco, cigars 50.000 

Trunks 10,000 

Miscellaneous 300,000 

Total $9,911,000 



30 



OREGON AS IT IS. 



1882. ] 


883. 


1884. 


1885. 


I 58 $1 


76* 


$1 70 


$1 15 


I 60 ] 


. 89 


1 60 


1 17* 


I 62^ ] 


« 95 


1 55 


1 i7i 


1 63 


t 85 


1 5o 


I 27^ 


1 68 


[ 77* 


* 47i 


I 32^ 


1 68 ] 


< 75 


1 40 


I 27J 


1 70 


1 75 


1 35 


1 30 


1 56* : 


< 57* 


1 25 




1 53i 


1 57* 


1 07J 




1 53* 


[ 60 


1 10 




1 57* 1 


[ 70 


1 10 




1 65 


[ 80 


i 12J 





TABLE SHOWING THE AVERAGE MONTHLY PRICE OF WHEAT PER CENTAL 
(IDO lbs) SACKED, DELIVERED ON WHARF, AT PORTLAND, OREGON. 

MONTH. 1 8-8 1. 

January .$1 39 

February 1 32 

March 1 32 

April 1 33 

May 1 3 i| 

June 1 37 

July 1 39 

August 1 50 

September , 1 37$ 

October 1 61 

November 1 60 

December 1 156 J 

The Farmers' club after due consideration, decided that the cost of 
wheat raising in New York State is more than $16 per acre or about 60 
cents per bushel; that in that State wheat cannot be raised so as to 
be sold profitably for less than $1.50 per bushel. After a thorough 
study of the matter of wheat raising, it is found that it costs 33 cents 
per bushel to raise wheat in Oregon and put it in the warehouse at 
the depot for sale. At an average crop, a farmer can get about $18 an 
acre as a profit. 

TOWNS. 

Among the larger towns and cities in the valley, we have Salem, the 
Capital of the State, about fifty miles from Portland, having a popu- 
lation of about 7.500 people; the Governor and State officers reside 
here. Albany, seventy-nine miles from Portland, is a beautiful city of 
3,000 inhabitants; Eugene City with about 2,800 people, is one of the 
thrifty, enterprising cities of the valley. In Southern Oregon, we 
have Roseburg, seat of Douglas county, 1,300 people; Jacksonvflle, 
seat of Jackson county, 1,500 people; Ashland in the same county, 
with about 1,400 people; Grant's Pass, about 800 people; Medford, 
460 people; Oakland and other places. On the west side of the river 
we have Hillsboro with about 1,300 people; Forest Grove with 1,000 
inhabitants; Dallas, Polk county, with a population of 1,000 persons; 
McMinnville with about 1,200 people; Corvallis, a bright, thrifty city 
of about 2,000 inhabitants and a number of other, and smaller towns. 
In the Eastern section of the State we have The Dalles, with a popula- 
tion of about 3,500; Baker City, 1,800; Pendleton, 2,500; Union 
1,000. At the mouth of the Columbia we have Astoria, aptly called 
the Venice of America; a city of some 6,000 people enterprising, ener- 
getic, and the seaport town of the State. 

THE TOURIST IN OREGON. 

It is sometimes asked, what have you to offer the tourist and pleas- 
ure seeking traveler in Oregon? Much. Indeed^Oregon has more than 



OREGON AS IT IS. 31 

her share of pleasant and picturesque summer resorts; places where the 
citizen or the traveler in pursuit of pleasure and recreation will sojourn 
for the season, and part with, reluctantly. Along the Pacific Ocean 
coast line of nearly 300 miles, and within easy and inexpensive travel- 
ing distance of the central portion of the State, we have a score or 
two of these summer resorts where there is an inspiration in the air, 
and where comforts and conveniences of all kinds may be found, at 
ordinary prices of living What with variety of pastoral scenery; ex- 
tent of our forests; nobleness of rivers; grandeur of snow-shrouded 
mountain peaks and verdure-clothed hills, richness, of color; a flora 
that is rich beyond comparison; a fauna that is strange and interesting, 
and a climate which for serenity and evenness has no equal in Amer- 
ica, and all within reach of the tourist; there is enough to captivate 
his fancy, and lure the invalid, artist or scientist from chamber, studio 
or laboratory. It is no wild exaggeration or fancy to say, that so far 
as the scenery of this domain is concerned, it is one of the grandest 
portions of the globe. Nature has showered her blessings of this kind 
with a lavish hand. Indeed, few sections of the American continent 
can offer a more agreeable and charming combination of river, hill, 
mountain, lake, prairie and forest attractions than that of Oregon. 
The visitor should not fail to visit the picturesque places, within rapid, 
easy and inexpensive reach of Portland. A short ride up the Colum- 
bia on the steamers or the cars of the O. R. & N. Co.'s line, will give 
the visitor a splendid view of Mt. Hood and Mt. St. Helens; take him 
to " Rooster Rock, " " Cape Horn, " Multnomah Falls and Latourelle 
Falls, both having all the elements of beauty in falling water, and to 
the Cascades, where the scenery is equal to, if it does not surpass, 
anything to be seen in Europe. At Hood station, the traveler will 
find stages to convey him to the base of Mt. Hood, 25 miles distant, 
where he will be surrounded by some of the most exhilarating scenery 
in the world. The trip down the Columbia, to Astoria, and the sea- 
side resorts of Ilwaco, Fort Stephens, Seaside, Seaview, Ocean Beach, 
and thence a hundred different excursion routes, can be made at 
nominal rates, and with but little expenditure of time. The steamers 
for Alaska, Victoria and the delightful places on Puget Sound, clear 
from the docks in Portland, during the summer season. 

Crater Lake is another point of interest; made conspicuous recently 
by an act of Congress, appropriating a large extent of surrounding coun- 
try for a public park. 

Crater Lake is situated in the northwestern portion of Klamath 
county, Oregon, 22 miles west of north of Fort Klamath, and about 
90 miles east of Medford, Jackson county, 328 miles south of Portland, 
which is the best point to leave the Oregon & California railroad. 
The Jacksonville and Fort Klamath military road passes within three 
miles of the lake, and the road to the very walls of it, is an exception- 
ally good one for the mountainous country, while in near proximity 
may be found remarkable fine camping grounds. 

The lake itself has been variously estimated from one by two to 
twelve by fifteen miles in extent, but from our own observation we 



32 OREGON AS IT IS. 

would say it is certainly not less than six miles wide by eight long. 
It is almost egg shaped, ranging from east of north to west of south. 
The water's surface is 6,300 feet above sea level and is completely 
surrounded by cliffs or walls, from 1,000 to over 2,000 feet high, which 
are scantily covered with fir timber. To the southwest is Wizard 
Island, six hundred feet high, circular shape, and slightly covered with 
timber. In the top is a depression, or crater — the Witches' Caul- 
dron — 90 feet deep, and 475 feet in diameter. This was evidently the 
last smoking chimney of a once mighty volcano. The base of the 
island is covered with very heavy and hard rocks, with sharp and un- 
worn edges, over which scarcely a score of human feet have ever trod. 
Farther up are deep beds of ashes, and light spongy rocks and cinders 
giving evidence of intense heat. Within the crater, as without, the 
surface is entirely covered with volcanic rocks, but here it forms one 
of the hottest places on a clear day in August it has every been our lot 
to witness. Not a breath of air seems to enter and the hot sun pours 
down upon the thousands of rocks and stones that reflect his rays with 
an intensity that seems to multiply beyond conception. Here, how- 
ever, we determined to lunch — and did — but one such experience will 
last a long time. Directly north of the Island is Llao rock, a grand 
old sentinel, standing boldly out on the west side of the lake and 
reaching 2,200 feet perpendicular. From the top of it you can drop a 
stone and it will pass down and grow smaller and smaller, until your 
head begins to swim and you see the stone become a mere speck and 
then fade entirely from view and at last nearly half a mile below, it 
strikes the unruffled surface of the water and sinks forever from sight 
in the depths of a bottomless lake. 

There is probably no point of interest in America that so com- 
pletely overcomes the ordinary Indian with fear as Crater Lake. 
From time immemorial no power has been strong enough to induce 
them to approach within sight of it. For a paltry sum they will en- 
gage to guide you thither, but before reaching the mountain top they 
will leave you to proceed alone. 

Crater Lake is but 3 striking memento of a dread past. Imagine 
a vast mountain, six by eight miles through, at an elevation of 7,000 
feet, with the top removed and the inside hollowed out, then filled 
with the clearest water in the world to within 2,000 feet of the. top, 
then place a round island in one end 600 feet high, then dig a circular 
hole tapering to the center like a funnel, 90 feet deep and 475 feet in 
diameter, and you have a perfect representation of Crater Lake. 

SUMMARIZING. 

The intending immigrant, whether he comes from the over-crowded 
districts of our States, or from the old country, has only to study 
through these pages to ascertain just what this State has to offer him. 
What he reads is accurate and wholly trustworthy in every particular; 
and is easily substantiated by facts here on the ground. The State has 
grown the past two decades in every direction, material and moral. Its 
soil is fitted for a production of that which will feed millions of people. 



Oregon as it is. 33 

it stands first as a healthful State. For the invalid this is a restful 
climate. It is an even, (but varied according to location) recuperative, 
tonic climate. And the conditions of life here are favorable. All the 
opportunities for progress are among the best in the land. All the 
possibilities for wealth are abundant. The soil is rich, fertile, and 
versatile. The productions belong to almost every clime. If the im- 
migrant comes here to farm in a general way, to raise stock, to mine, 
to establish new industries, he will find just the surroundings and in- 
ducements he has in view. Our lands will reward him as a farmer. 
Everything in the way of soil and climate, market and transportation 
will meet his views. Here is a broad, open field of occupation for 
those who toil for a competency. If he seeks government, railway or 
lands held by private parties at low rates, now is the time to come and 
make his selection. Each season the limits of such lands are narrow- 
ing, and localities near towns and railways settling up. 

Unimproved lands are now settling at very low prices. After the 
public domain in this State has been exhausted, (and it will not be 
long to that date), the land in Oregon will very quickly go up to an 
average, probably, three times as high as the present one. The man 
who owns 160 acres of Oregon land has a fortune for his children. 
The second Oregon is coming on. The present State and people are 
rich. The average farm entered twenty years ago at #1.25 an acre, is 
worth $30 an acre to-day. This makes an appreciation of many 
millions. The second Oregon will reap still more because of the land 
limit. In ten years the $1.25 to $30, will be $30 to $60 and $75. It 
is wisdom to invest now, if you intend to invest at all. Come with a 
will to work, and your industry and careful effort will reward you. 
For almost any sum of money between $5 and $75 an acre a man can 
get one or a hundred acres of land, convenient to town, transportation, 
schools, churches and other advantages of this nature; land, that will 
produce all the grains, fruits and vegetables of the temperate zone of 
America. He can find the same in a climate, where nectarines, figs, 
almonds and the best of all kinds of fruit, and corn, as well as wheat, 
find a natural home. He can be suited, as to climate, soil, prices, 
productions; in a word, if he is at all reasonable, he cannot go amiss of 
his object in Oregon. 

With a State offering the potent inducements of an equable climate, 
an unmatched soil, splendid timber land, the best of water in natural 
streams and in wells, the highest grade of educational institutions, a 
dominant church interest, convenient markets, the permanent popula- 
tion of this part of Oregon, composed as it is of the best material, wijl 
most cordially welcome that, in immigration, which will add to the 
moral, social and financial status, to the force that is to develop the 
limitless reo^. es of this vast domain. 

THE STATE DIVIDED. 

There are three natural divisions of the State, and as many climatic 
areas. Three ranges of mountains, the Cascade, the Coast and the 
Blue Mountains traverse the State. From south to north, parallel to 



34 OREGON AS IT IS. 

the ocean shore, runs the Coast range. Parallel to this, about ioo 
miles further east, runs the Cascade range, extending from the California 
line to British Columbia. The Blue Mountains are in Eastern Oregon, 
extending from near the southern line into .Washington Territory. 

EASTERN OREGON. 

This section of the State is an empire in itself, comprising two-thirds 
of the area of this State, and embraces the eight counties of Wasco, 
Crook, Gilliam, Morrow, Union, Umatilla, Grant and Baker. The wheat 
belt comprises the greater portion of the great plain, extending all the way 
from the foothills of the Cascades in Wasco county to and including a 
portion of northern Idaho. Not all is well adapted to grain raising, 
however; considerable portions of Wasco, Gilliam and Morrow coun- 
ties Umatilla and Union, are either too rough or too dry to raise grain 
to advantage — but these portions are scarcely less valuable, for they 
afford ranges for stock, and stock-raising is a more profitable business 
than wheat-raising. Transportation facilities have increased rapidly 
in the last few years. Barley grows as successfully as wheat. Corn is 
latterly becoming an important crop, and does reasonably well. 
Vegetables of nearly all sorts common to our climate are exceedingly 
prolific and of excellent quality, and can be grown upon the dry up 
lands as well as upon the bottom-lands. Various kinds of fruit are 
successfully cultivated in the Eastern Oregon valleys and can be produced 
in most parts of this upper country. It is the opinion of many that 
much of the sandy land considered unfit for grain growing will sustain 
vineyards; and the time will likely come when the Eastern Oregon 
tenrtory will be celebrated not only for its wheat, the \\ corn for 
nourishment," but also its " wine for refreshment." 

The other great sources of wealth in this country are its stock- pro- 
ducing beef and wool. The climatic conditions are very different 
from either Western or Southern Oregon; yet desirable and comparing 
favorably with other localities. The winters are short, sometimes 
sharp and at times a little severe. The thermometer rises higher in 
the summer, than it does in Western Oregon. The rainfall is less by 
one-half ; yet seldom drouth occurs. Spring begins in February and 
lasts till May. This is the rainy season. 

The principal objections to the country as a home for farmers are two; 
lack of timber in the interior regions *and away from the timber- 
bordered streams, and difficulty in obtaining water in some localities. 
In some instances wood for fuel and fencing must be hauled from 
thjrly to forty miles; and in spots water can only be obtained by dig- 
ging eighty or a hundred feet, mostly through rocks. These are ex- 
ceptional cases, however, water usually being found at a depth of from 
seven to twenty feet. Any description here further than a general 
statement of this sort is of course impossible. Settlers on traveling 
over the country and making inquiries can ascertain the advantages 
and disadvantages for themselves. 



OREGON AS IT IS. 35 

BAKER COUNTY. 

Is about 200 miles long and 100 wide. It has a population of about 
15,000 people. There are [1,000,000 aceres of land in this county. 
The most desireable portions hive been surveyed. Water courses are 
numerous and never failing, and from these much of the dry land there 
may be easily irrigated, while other tracts are not so conveniently 
situated. 

The leading tributaries of Snake river, beginning at the north, Pow- 
der, Burnt, Malheur and Owyhee rivers, each of which has numerous 
large and small tributaries. The bottom lauds along the streams are 
very fertile and frequenty spread out into grassy valleys of considerable 
width. Some of this land, lying back from the streams and slightly 
elevated above them, requires irrigation to render it productive much 
of it being favorably located for that purpose. 

The stock ranges of the Malheur and Owyhee are among the best in 
the West. The climate is' in every way suited for that industry. But 
little rain falls in summer and not much snow in winter. Cattle have 
grazed in some of these valleys for fifteen years without other food 
than that obtained by them on the ranges and have never suffered 
serious loss. Generally, they are fat and in good condition in the 
spring; but occasionally, they suffer some deterioration. As on all 
ranges, a small percentage die every winter from various cause. Run- 
ning water is abundant in the streams, fed constantly by the living 
springs and melting snow of the mountains, and stock does not suffer 
for lack of water during the dryest season. It is estimated that 150,- 
000 cattle are grazed in the county, valued at $2,000,000, though the 
assessor's returns fall far short of these figures both in number and 
value per head. The stock industry dominates in a large portion of the 
county, and however extensive the farming settlements may become in 
that region, this pursuit will always be an important an profitable one. 
The wool interests are also quite considerable, and large bands of 
sheep graze on the hills and in the little mountain valleys. 

The first great industry of this region was mining, and the country 
was first settled by a mining population. Gold and silver quartz ledges 
and gold placers have annually yielded large returns. Elsewhere in 
this book this mining interest has been fully noticed. 

During the past year, the population of the county has increased at 
least 45 per cent, and the influence of this increase is manifest in the 
rapid and substantial growth of the center of supplies, Baker City. 
Carpenters, brick and stone masons, and in fact, mechanics of all 
kinds, have been kept busy, while real estate has advanced more than 
100 per cent. 

There is no section in Oregon where an industrious man, with a 
small capital, can do better than in Baker county. There is a great 
deal of vacant land to be had, and unimproved agricultural land can 
be had for from $6 to $10 an acre. 

Baker City, a thriving town of 2,200 inhabitants, is the county seat. 
It has rail road communication with Portland, 



36 OREGON AS IT IS. 

GRANT COUNTY. 

Grant county contains an area of 13,060 square miles, and stands at 
the head of the stock industry in Oregon Its 12,000 people are en- 
gaged chiefly in mining and stock raising. There is little land, except 
on the Lower John Day and its tributaries, that is less than 3,000 feet 
above the sea level. The mercury falls sometimes quite low, but these 
cold snaps are infrequent and of short duration. Among the moun- 
tains, of course, the climate is subject to sudden changes. Snow 
seldom falls to any great depth, except in the mountains, and seldom 
remains on the ground more than a few days below the timber line. 
Rain seldom falls from June to September, except in sudden thunder 
showers that sometimes occur. Although the summers are warm, the 
heat is not uncomfortable, owing to the dryness and rarity of the 
atmosphere. The nights are always cool. 

The agricultural possibilities of this region have never been fully 
recognized. The farming lands consist chiefly of narrow valleys and 
adjacent foothills. " Bonanza 'farming/' as conducted on the im- 
mense prairies of Dakota, is not here possible, but the small farm, pro- 
ducing diversified crops of grain, hay and vegetables, and giving sup- 
port to a limited number of cattle, sheep, horses and swine, can be 
made to yield a splendid living to thousands of energetic families. 

The soil and climate of Grant county are adapted to the raising of 
all the hardier grains, fruits and vegetables. Wheat, oats, barley and 
hay are the leading crops. The nights are too cool for corn to do 
well, chough corn is raised in the warmer valleys. Apples, pears, 
plums, cherries and berries of all kinds thrive, but peaches cannot be 
depended upon; yet good peaches are raised in certain portions of the 
county, where the topography favors them and gives them shelter from 
the extreme cold. The country is well watered by numerous large and 
small streams and springs of pure water. The northern portion is well 
timbered. 

Nothing but a detailed description of the county by its natural sub- 
divisions can give an adequate idea of its great agricultural possibili- 
ties. In proportion to its total area the amount of arable land is small. 
but when the numerous valleys are considered by themselves, and their 
areas added together, the result carries the total far up into the mil- 
lions of acres. Put together in one body, it would make a compact 
arable tract equal in size to some of the best counties in the State. 

The most important stream is the John Day, rising in four great 
streams in the Blue Mountains, after uniting, flowing easterly and 
and northerly to the Columbia. Along this stream, its various forks 
and tributaries, are thousands of acres of the finest arable land, much 
of which has b*en occupied for years, while much more is still open 
for settlement. 

The county is rich in minerals, and millions have been taken from 
the placers here. 

There are five towns in Grant county — Canyon City, Prairie City, 
John Day, Burns and Drewsy. Canyon City is situated on Canyon 
Creek, near its junction with the main stream of John Day river, and 



OREGON AS IT IS. 37 

has a population of about 800. It is the chief commercial point in the 
county, and is connected by stage lines with The Dalles and Baker 
City. The latter point is ninety-six miles distant, and is the railroad 
station for this region; mail being received daily by that route. 

Grant county as a place of residence would meet the ideal of a large 
proportion of immigrants seeking homes. 

CROOK COUNTY. 

Crook is a new county cut off from the southern end of Wasco in 
1882, It lies on the eastern slope of the Cascades, in the very heart 
of Oregon. Its many mountain valleys and long ranges of rolling hills 
are covered with grass, and for years this has been a vast grazing 
ground for immense bands of cattle. The country is well watered by 
the tributaries of the Des Chutes. There are many thousands of acres 
of valuable agricultural land along the streams and in the numerous 
valleys yet open to settlement. These lands are of undoubted fertility. 
There are also the vast stretches of bunch grass lands, which have been 
generally considered of no value without irrigation. This opinion is 
being somewhat modified under the experiments that have been made 
the last few years, and many now believe that any soil rich and moist 
enough to support a luxuriant growth of bunch grass will produce good 
crops of grain when properly cultivated. 

As the principal industry is stock raising, and as stockmen generally 
pay no attention to cultivation of the soil, those engaged in farming 
find a ready market at home for all they can produce, and at prices 
that rule as high or higher than those of any other locality in the State, 
Only a small percentage are engaged in agriculture, hence the demand 
for grain and vegetables is equal to the supply of those articles. 

Prineville, the county seat, is the trade center and supply point for 
this industry, and is a thriving town, situated on Ochoco river, near 
its junction with Crooked river, a branch of the Des Chutes. 

MORROW COUNTY. 

The southwestern portion of the empire of Umatilla, county, was 
given, recently, to form the new County of Morrow, of which Hepp- 
ner, the center of the wool industry, is the county seat. This county 
is surrounded irregularly by Umatilla, Grant, Wasco and Gilliam. 
Until recent years the principal source of revenue of that region was 
the stock industry, and there is probably no country in which the 
raising of cattle, horses and sheep could be more profitably engaged in. 
Of late years sheep have superseded cattle to a large extent, there 
being 150,000 of them in the vicinity of Heppner. Owing to a large 
influx of immigrants during the past two years, large areas of grazing 
land are no.v being rapidly transformed into grain fields. Land that 
was formerly thought valuable only for grazing is now producing from 
twenty to forty bushels of wheat to the acre, or from two to three tons 
of hay. There is much of this quality of land still open to settlement. 
The description which in this book is given to Umatilla, Union and 
Wasco counties, will in general, apply to Morrow and Gilliam counties. 



38 OREGON AS IT IS. 

GILLIAM COUNTY. 

The last legislature created a new county with the name of Gilliam, 
taking land for that purpose from Wasco and Umatilla. Through it 
flows the John Day River to its junction with the Columbia, and 
within its limits lies much of the John Day region described in 
Wasco county. The leading industry is wool growing, though yearly 
agriculture is increasing, as land is being taken from the ranges and 
given to the plow. There are thousands of acres of good prairie 
wheat land open for settlement. The county seat is Arlington, a 
bustling town of a few years' growth, lying on the Columbia and the 
O. R. & N. Company's line, which crosses the northern end of the 
county skirting the river. 

UMATILLA COUNTY. 

Umatilla County, since nearly one-half its former territory was 
taken off in last year to create Morrow County, contains about 75 
townships, 2770 square miles, or 1,728,000 acres. The present county 
of Umatilla consists of the eastern half of the old county, and con- 
tains the most extensive agricultural region of Eastern Oregon. The 
present population is about 15,000. Wheat, barley, oats and corn 
are the principal agricultural products, wheat largely predominating 
Prior to 1883 no grain was raised for export, the chief industry 
being stock-raising, most of the land being considered unfit for 
agricultural purposes. Gradually the soil has been tested, until it 
is now demonstrated that a great portion of the county is very pro- 
ductive. The soil and climate is well adapted to barley and oats as 
well as wheat. 

The average yield of wheat for 1885 is officially reported to be 26 
bushels per acre, This includes spring and volunteer crops. Many 
fields of properly sown fall grain yield from 30 to 45 bushels an acre. 

All kinds of fruits not strictly tropical can be successfully culti- 
vated. Apples, plums, prunes and berries are especially prolific and 
of fine quality. Peaches and grapes can also be grown in some 
portions of the county; in the warmer valleys. All kinds of vegetables 
grow in abundance, and of the best quality. Though stock has been 
diminishing before the advance of the gang-plow and header and 
steam- thresher, there are yet large areas of the county especially 
adapted to grazing, which cannot be successfully tilled. The census 
of 1885 shows 22,984 horses, 20,805 cattle, 14,288 hogs, and 253,717 
sheep, the wool product being 1,638,856 pounds. The number of 
sheep of course include lambs; the average yield of wool is about 9 
pounds per head. The total valuation for 1885 is about $6,800,000; 
net taxable property, after excluding indebtedness and exemptions, 
$4,275,000, or over $350 per capita for the total population. 

The climate is much milder than that several degrees further 
south, east of the Rocky Mountains. Excessive extremes of heat and 
cold are not as protracted as in Eastern States, generally lasting but 
a few days. Strong winds prevail for awhile in spring, but rarely in 
winter, and anything like cyclones are unknown. Though the soil is 



OREGON AS IT IS. 39 

very light and loose, and no rain falls during the summer months, 
no irrigation is necessary. There is no healthier spot on the conti- 
nent. The Blue mountains afford an inexhaustible supply of pine, 
fir and tamarack timber, and abundance of large game. The streams 
abound in salmon and mountain trout. There are numerous streams, 
though the "hill land" at some distance from streams is quite as 
good as that adjacent to them. Coal in extensive quantities has 
been discovered. The county has been and is being well supplied 
with railroads. The OR & N. Go's, line extends across most of the 
northern edge of the county along the Columbia river; a branch of 
its line extends from Umatilla Junction via the Umatilla river across 
the Blue mountains connecting wth the Union Pacific; and a branch 
is in construction' between Pendleton and Walla Walla, W. T., a 
distance of 40 miles through the heart of the agricultural region. 
Wages for all sorts of labor are good, and no one who is able and 
willing to work need lack for employment at fair wages Men 
entirely without means will have difficulty in making a start — except 
by working for wages — but those with small capital — say from $1,000 
to $5,000 — can secure a good home here as easily as in any other 
county in the Union. Professional men and idlers are not needed. 
Although a great quantity of government land has been taken up 
during the last two or three years, there is still room for thousands 
of settlers in the foothills removed from railways and towns, who 
are willing to endure a few hardships at first. Pendleton is the 
county seat and principal town, situated on the Umatilla river and 
the railroad , and is the terminus of the Walla Walla branch railroad ; 
is a prosperous town of about 2,500 inhabitants. Weston, Center- 
ville and Milton in the eastern part cf the county, Adams, 14 miles 
from Pendleton on the Wild Horse creek, and Echo on the Umatilla, 
2o miles north of Pendleton, are the other principal towns. Good 
church and school facilities are offered in almost every settlement. 

UNION COUNTY. 

This county is situated in the northeastern part of the State, and 
is about 100 miles square. The surface of the country embraced 
within the county limits is diversified and generally quite elevated, 
Grand Ronde Valley being about 2,700 feet above the level of the 
sea. The mountains are much higher. In places they are five, six, 
and in some instances, perhaps, seven thousand feet above the sea. 

The climate is generally dry, though fairly seasonable as to rain- 
fall. The fall rains begin usually in September, but are not gener- 
ally copious until the latter part of October or the first of November. 
From about the middle of November to the first or middle of March 
there is usually more or less snow, which in the more elevated sec- 
tions accumulates to a considerable depth, and in the higher moun- 
tains remains until late in the spring, not entirely disappearing on 
the highest ranges until June. The latter part of March, all of 
April, and the early part of May is usually more or less interspersed 
with showers, and generally there are seasonable showers in June 
and July. 



40 OREGON AS IT IS. 

There are not less than 350,000 acres of the best quality of agri- 
cultural lands, and twice as much grazing land, in the county. The 
residue of the county is covered with an almost inexhaustible supply 
of timber of a very superior quality, embracing pine, spruce, tam- 
arack and fir. Union is a splendid stock and dairy county, and it is 
finely adapted to fruit growing. The timberless hills are covered 
with succulent bunch grass, while the pasturage in the pine forests, 
though less nutritious in its nature, is so well sheltered that the cat- 
tle keep fat and strong during the severest winters. 

Grand Konde Valley is a circular, grassy plain, thirty miles in 
diameter. It is one of the most fertile valleys on the Pacific Slope, 
well watered, and very productive of fruit, grain, vegetables and hay. 
Wheat often yields from forty to sixty bushels to the acre, and oats 
and barly from sixty to eighty. It is cut off on the south by a high 
range of hills, which extends in an easterly and westerly direction, 
connecting the mountains on each side. On the north the valley is 
terminated by the mountains coming into close proximity to each 
other, being only separated by the gorge through which the Grand 
Ronde river flows. Either in winter, spring, summer or autumn it is 
a magnificent picture when viewed from any of the surrounding 
heights. The river, w T hich bears the same name as the valley, flows 
in from the Blue Mountains on the west side. It takes a straight 
easterly course until it reaches the hills on the eastern side, thence it 
takes a northerly course, becoming very sluggish, and follows an ex- 
ceedingly crooked channel. 

The inducements held out by Union County are attracting hun- 
dreds of families, and it will not be long before the best lands will 
be settled and brought under cultivation. 

There are two considerable towns in the county, Union and La- 
Grande. Union is the county seat and has a popnlation of 1,500. 
It is a growing town in the midst of a fine agricultural country, 
which is surrounded by stock ranges on which are large herds of 
cattle, horses and sheep. Union is the shipping point for both stock 
and grain. LaGrande is also a busy village with bright prospects 
for the future. The county is well supplied with schools, churches 
and similar features. 

WASCO COUNTY. 

This is one of the principal counties of the Eastern Empire, and 
has an area of something like 2,350,000 acres of land. The county 
contains 100 townships. Of this land, it is considered by our best 
judges that there is something more than half of it which has a soil 
suited to mixed farming, most of it without irrigation. It is also 
estimated that there are not over five townships, all told, that are 
not of great value, a portion of the year, for pasturage. This, with 
immense timber resources on the Cascade range of mountains, ex- 
tending across the western boundary of the county, from the Colum- 
bia southward, and the timber border upon the Blue Mountain range, 
on its southeastern boundary, makes it one of the most desirable 



OREGON AS IT IS. 41 

bodies of land in the Northwest, especially as the Columbia river 
runs entirely across the northern boundary. 

The everlasting snows of Mt. Hood furnish a constant, never-fail- 
ing volume of water in Des Chutes and its tributaries, which runs 
northerly across the entire westerly portion of the county, and pour 
their clear, cool waters into the Columbia at Fultonville, fifteen 
miles easterly from The Dalles. The westerly and northwesterly 
watershed of the Blue Mountain range sends its surplus waters 
through the John Day river and its many branches in to the Colum- 
bia, twenty miles above the mouth of the Des Chutes. Thus the 
territory of the county, which is about sixty miles square, has the 
Columbia waters on the north, and is divided into three parts by the 
Des Chutes and John Day waters from the south. The soil between 
these rivers and along the whole length of their sides up to the tim- 
ber on the mountain slopes, is of unsurpassed richness, and suitable 
for vegetable growth and the production of grain, requiring only 
man's instrumentality in working and exposing its top by the plow 
and letting in the sun and air to prepare it for his uses. 

From the earliest settlement of the county, until recently, that 
region has been largely devoted to stock raising. As the population 
increased the ranges were occupied and it became necessary to sell 
off the cattle. Very naturally the attention of the people was 
directed to agriculture, which formerly had been carried on only to 
the extent of supplying local consumptive demands. There was seri- 
ous question as to the capacity of the country for general farming — 
not with reference to the richness of the soil, for that was unques- 
tioned, but it was feared that the long seasons of dry weather would 
be fatal to general crops. The experiment, however, has been tried, 
and the result is highly satisfactory. Wheat, which was quite gen- 
erally grown, is a splendid crop. The yield is reported to average 
from 22 to 26 bushels to the acre. Many fields, particularly well 
cultivated, yielded 30 bushels or more to the acre, and others, where 
farming methods were poor, did not produce more than 20 bushels, 
but the average was fully up to expectations. 

The spring season of northern Wasco County is a month earlier 
than that of the Willamette Valley, and its "truck" products can 
always have the first and highest sales in the market of Portland. 
The country is splendidly adapted for this kind of farming, and 
with the drouths which must be expected occasionally will interfere 
less than with wheat as an exclusive crop. Besides, vegetable and 
fruit crops do not drain and impoverish the soil as does grain grow- 
ing. Northern Wasco is the most favored region of this much- 
favored State for fruit production. It lacks many of the favorable 
climatic advantages of other portions of Orgon, but this is more than 
compensated by its situation next door to the Portland market. 
Apples, cherries, pears, peaches and small fruits mature very early 
there, and their form and flavor is unsurpassed. Some of the finest 
specimens of the potato, bean, corn and vegetables shown at the 



42 OREGON AS IT IS. 

State Board rooms were raised on the. John Day river; and that 
without any cultivation, being sod growth. 

Planted at the gateway of the grand canyon of the Columbia, is 
The Dalles, a city of about 4,000 inhabitants. Its location is favor- 
able and commands the support of a wide district of country north 
and south. Shops of the O. R. & N. Company are located here 
and add considerably to its trade. Farming districts within reach of 
it, and stock ranges in all directions, materially build up the pros- 
perity of the place. It has good hotels, the best of schools, hand- 
some business blocks, good streets and many beautiful private 
residences. 

SOUTHERN OREGON. 

The counties of Jackson, Josephine, Coos, Curry, Lake and Klam- 
ath, form what is commonly known as Southern Oregon. It com 
prises the lake region to the east of Jackson, the valley of Rogue 
River, the Umpqua and the Coquille rivers, and a vast domain lying 
south of the Calapooia spur, and north of the California line. 
Whether we speak of Southern Oregon as a stock, fruit, grain, tim- 
ber or mineral region, it is equal to any other part of the State. In 
many respects — fruit and corn for instance — this section is unmatched 
in the State or on the Pacific Coast. The whole domain will stand 
the closest examination of the immigrant who comes to find oppor- 
tunity for building up a profitable business and permanent home. 

The climate of Southern Oregon is its strong point ; the healthful- 
ness of the section in comparison with other parts of the State or 
with other States, presents it in a most favorable light. The soil is 
fertile and prolific. Anything that will thrive in a semi-tropical 
climate will grow here, and attain a degree of perfection unknown 
elsewhere. Southern Oregon is a very empire, the pride of every 
citizen there, and containing within itself all the elements of pros 
perity; the very place for new homes, new energy, new industries. 

JACKSON COUNTY. 

It is not easy for a person to form a correct idea of Jackson county 
without visiting it ; and even then a hasty tour, although instructive, 
is apt to be misleading in many particulars unless accompanied by 
the closest observations and the most diligent inquiry. It is a land 
of novelties. In topography, climate, water, soil and products, it 
has its own peculiar character. There is a strange commingling of 
mountains and plains, hills and valleys, gardens and deserts ; and 
their unusual and unexpected combinations are ever ready to interest 
the intelligent observer, and confute the careless sight-seer. Climate 
and seasons are unlike anything: known in the States east of the 
Rocky Mountains. The great differences of soil in the same neigh- 
borhood, and often on the same farm, renders any description made 
otherwise than in detail vague and unsatisfactory. 

Bounded north by Douglas, east by Lake, and south by California. 
It contains an area of about 4100 square miles, and fully one-half of 
its surface is comprised within the Rogue river valley and the valleys 



OREGON AS IT IS. 43 

• 

tributary to it. Jackson is by many termed the garden spot of the 
Pacific coast, because of its excellent climate, its beautiful scenery 
and the richness ard great variety of its productions. It is eight 
townships or forty-eight miles wide, east and west, with an average 
of nine townships, or forty-four miles, north and south. This area 
contains 2592 square miles, or, in other words, 1,658,880 acres. Of 
this amount 278,000 acres are in cultivation, which can be enlarged 
to a total of 500,000 acres or more. Dividing the 1,658,880 acres 
into three parts, one- third is arable land, one- third grazing and one- 
third timber land. The arable land comprises the valley, table and 
rolling hill lands. 

It has neither the humidity of the Willamette nor the excessive 
heat nor drouth of the Sacramento valley, but maintains an equable 
temperature, a kind of happy medium between the two. Besides its 
mines, fruit, vegetables and grain, it is particularly famous for its 
fine stock, especially horses. From the first there seems to have been 
a rivalry among the stock-raisers of Rogue river valley for the im- 
provement of all breeds. 

Rogue river valley is a most beautiful one, dotted here and there 
with groves of oak, intermingled with evergreen, covered all over 
with well cultivated farms and excellent improvements The sum- 
mits of the highest mountains to the east and south are covered with 
everlasting snow, while in the valley snow seldom falls at all. 
Thousands of streams come tumbling down the mountain-sides to 
beautify and enrich the valley below. 

The great diversity of soils and the admixture of the elements com- 
posing one class of soil with those of another grade renders it ex- 
ceedingly difficult, in the space at our command, to describe it so 
that one not acquainted with its peculiarities and the climatic influ- 
ences can form a rational conclusion concerning its merits. The soil 
of all sections of country seems to be adapted to the climate, or the 
climate to the soil. These conditions appear to be admirably adjusted 
here. There is no frost to loosen up or pulverize the mineral ele- 
ments, but this work is done by chemical action caused by the 
admixture found in nearly every grade of soil. Nothing more aston- 
ishes the novice than the crops found growing on lands which appear 
to him as worthless. 

The same wide-spread variety of soils manifests itself in the pro- 
ducts. Take, for instance, any of the valley farms; and on all them 
you may grow, with a reasonable amount of industry, all that is 
necessary for the support of man or beast; including fruits from the 
semi tropical to the most hardy varieties. Couple to this the fact 
that crops never fail, that houses or other improvements are never 
molested by wind or storms, that the climate is mild, invigorating 
and healthy, and you will have a fair conception of nature's works to 
the wants of man who makes his home in this valley. 

The mildness of the climate and the absence of any prevailing dis- 
ease among stock makes this an inviting field for stcok growers. 
Very few persons furnish shelter for their stock in winter. In the 



44 OBEGON AS IT IS. 

valley where it is more densely settled and the native grass more ex- 
hausted, more hay for winter feeding or more tame pasturage is re- 
quired. Some, of the best horses ever grown on the Pacific Coast 
were the product of this county. Stock or all kinds have always 
commanded good prices. 

The county seat is Jacksonville, a delightful town of considerable 
importance, about five miles to the west of the railroad. It has two 
newspapers, a large number of mercantile establishments, excellent 
schools, churches, a $40,000 court house and other attractions. The 
other principal towns are Medford, a new town on the railroad near 
the center of the valley, of rapid growth and great promise. Phoenix, 
also on the railroad, and Ashland, the present terminus of the Cali- 
fornia and Oregon road, and the most considerable town in South nn 
Oregon. It has a college, woolen factory, marble factory, two 
cabinet factories, a large flouring mill, newspaper, two excellent pub- 
lic schools, a bank does a large commercial business with the sur- 
rounding country, and with the Lake county across the mountains. 
Ashland creek flows through the town and furnishes an excellent 
water power, and an abundance of water for irrigation and domestic 
purposes. 

JOSEPHINE COUNTY 

Lies to the east of Curry, south of Douglas, west of Jackson and 
reaches the C difornia line on the South. Its area is about 1,800 
square miles. 

Its picturesque beauty is beyond description, and its area of till- 
able land is not as extensive as other portions of the State, although 
the valleys are beyond all question among the most fertile and pro- 
ductive in America. 

Rogue river flows through the country for 40 miles, and furnishes 
a fine valley of rich, sandy loam for about 18 miles. The valley is 
from one to two miles wide for this distance, backed with high rolling 
hills, covered with excellent growth of timber. Rogue river is a 
beautiful stream, with an average width of about 300 feet and a 
depth of three or four feet, with a fall of ten feet to the mile. The 
water is always clear and cold. 

Williams creek and the Applegate river form a narrow valley of 
very rich land about 30 miles long. These valleys are already noted 
for a wonderful productiveness. 

Jump-off-Joe, Grave and Wolf creeks are streams of some impor- 
tance, each forming small valleys of agricultural and gaazing lands. 

The Illinois river, with its tributaries of Deer creek, Sucker creek 
and Althouse creek, form the valleys upon the western side of the 
county. There is upon each of these streams many acres of fine 
agricultural land, much of it still covered with brush. These streams 
in former years have been especially noted for their rich placer 
mines. In this vicinity there are still found good government lands, 
that will make happy homes for industrious and economical families. 

The resources of Josephine county are very numerous. In agri- 
cultural products, it produces well, a most remarkable variety. 



OREGON AS IT IS. 45 

Grain of almost every kind, fruits an(^ vegetables of every descrip- 
tion, not only grow, but attain a size and flavor equal, to those of 
any country. 

Stock of all kinds thrive well in connection with the farm, and 
there are several good ranges for small bands. 

Much wealth lies in its mineral and timber resources, for when 
they are fully developed in all their branches and manufactories are 
established, there will be a large home market for nearly all the farm 
products. 

This county with its fertile bottoms of warm, sandy loam soil 
along the streams, with its warm hillsides of dry, red land and cool 
granite benches, covered with immense pine forests, together with 
its sheltered situation and consequent immunity from wind and other 
storms, all conduce to make it well adapted to the raising of tender 
fruits and vegetables, as well as the more common and hardier kinds. 
No country in the world excels it for apples, pears, peaches, plums, 
apricots, nectarines and grapes, while all the varieties of berries 
possible in this latitude are produced in abundance and of »the finest 
flavor Snow seldom falls in the valleys and is almost always present 
in the mountains 

Fruit trees are generally healthy and free from moss so common to 
trees in the more moist climate further north, and usually begin 
bearing at two or three years old from the bud or graft. 

Corn and cane grow well on the sandy soil along the streams. 
Corn matures hard and sound, and will keep through the winter in 
an ordinary crib, and considerable syrup is annually made from the 
sugar cane. Broom corn has been successfully raised, and in the 
future will be an important industry. In the way of vegetable and 
garden truck, they attain a size and quality seldom equaled in other 
countries. Watermelons of prodigious dimensions and equisite flavor 
were grown last year at the rate of 1,400 marketable melons per acre, 
weighing from 20 to 60 lbs. each. Carrots, of which one acre yielded 
eight tons of fine roots, tomatoes that yielded over 400 bushels per 
acre and other vegetables in like proportion. Such things as 
squashes, rhubarb or pie-plant, horseradish, asparagus, etc., find here 
a congenial location. Tobacco and sweet potatoes have been raised 
in a small way and do well. 

Such statements as the above must not be taken as a general average 
of the whole county, as they will only apply to the best portions or 
bottom lands. There is, however, a large amount of mountainous, 
or rolling, granite hill land which has been thought to be unproduc- 
tive, but recent experiments have proved that fruit trees, grape vines 
and many other things will grow and thrive thereon, and conse- 
quent^ it is being taken up in considerable quantities and converted 
into homes Timothy, red clover and alfalfa all grow luxuriantly on 
the bottom lands without irrigation, but when grown on uplands 
need water. 

There are considerable government and railroad lands in this 
county, mostly rolling hills and small valleys, covered with timber 



46 OREGON AS IT IS. 

and brush. Small tracts of gqpd government land can be found by 
taking plenty of time to hunt it out. Better land can be bought for 
small sums, and many places with improvements are for sale cheap 
by persons who have not perfected title. 

The timber interests of this county are vast and varied. The 
value lies not so much in the quantity as the quality, and the grow- 
ing demand throughout the northwest coast for our sugar pine. 
This is extensively used for manufacturing sash and doors, and now 
that an extensive factory has been built at Grant's Pass, every sugar 
pine tree brings the county not less than seventy-five dollars. This 
is the only body of sugar pine, or manufacturing pine, on this coast, 
north of California, that is sufficiently close to transportation to 
make it available. Josephine county is furnishing this pine now to 
Jackson, Lane, Linn, Marion, and Multnomah counties, and can 
supply all of Oregon, Washington Territory and Idaho with doors, 
sash, etc., and stop the importation of these things from California. 

The yellow pine for flooring is unsurpassed, and this, together 
with the jommon lumber, finds a ready sale in Jackson county, as 
her timber is too far distant from her valleys to make it available, 
while this is easily transported upon the railroad; and the demand is 
constantly increasing. 

The great value of this timber therefore lies in its susceptibility of 
beiug manufactured into such articles of trade and commerce as this 
great northwest coast is constantly demanding. Most excellent ad- 
vantages for a water power in the immediate vicinity of this timber 
belt adds very materially to its value. Rogue river for fifteen miles 
above Grant's Pass has an average fall of ten feet to the mile, and 
furnishes an inexhaustible supply of most excellent water and would 
furnish a cheap and endless power for manufacturing. This power 
and the manufacturing interests connected with it are among the 
most reliable and profitable investments that this State affords. 

Grant's Pass is now the principal town, being on the Oregon and 
California railroad line and the shipping point for almost the entire 
business of the county, of which it is the seat. It is situated on the 
banks of Rogue river, and bids fair to soon become the most promis- 
ing town of Southern Oregon. It has to support it the entire re- 
sources of the county. Surrounding it is the large timber interests, 
In a business sense, the town is a bright, thrifty, wide awake place. 
In the moral, social, educational and financial features, Grant's Pass 
is abreast of the best localities in the State. It is admirably situated, 
advantageously so with reference to the trade of a vast region sur- 
rounding it, and it is not likely that its supremacy as a controlling 
business center for the county and the mining region, will ever be 
disputed. It has a population of energetic, pushing, liberal-minded 
citizens, who will create for the place a vigorous life and consequent 
prosperity. 

DOUGLAS COUNTY. 

Douglas county is a part of Southern Oregon, and is bounded on 
the north by Lane Countv, on the east by Lake, on the south by 



OREGON AS IT IS. 47 

Jackson, on the west by Coos county and the Pacific Ocean, It in 
eludes all the territory drained by the Umpqua river, which takes its 
rise in the Cascade Mountains and running westerly empties into the 
ocean in latitude about 43° 40' north. Its extreme length from north 
to south is ninety miles, from east to west one hundred, and its area 
4,000 square miles, 2,560,000 acres. The low hills are covered with 
scattered oaks. The vallej's are mostly free from timber with excep- 
tional groves of fir on the banks of the streams, giving the appear- 
ance of a great park, and furnishing everywhere landscapes of singular 
beauty. The higher spurs and the mountains themselves furnish an 
inexhaustible supply of fir, pine and cedar, which make the finest 
building material in the United States. 

The population of the county in 1885 was 12,000. The present 
means of communication with the outside world is, principally, the 
Oregon and California railroad which runs from Portland, near the 
northern boundary of the State, south through its whole length. 

The principal towns of this county are Roseburg, the county seat, 
which contains a population 1 ,400. It is situated on the South 
Umpqua river on the line of the O. & C. railroad, 198 miles south of 
Portland, and is the terminus of the wagon road to Coos Bay. On 
an air line, it is distant from the coast about 45 miles, by the wagon 
road 05 miles, and by the railroad survey 90 miles. 

The next in size, Oakland, which is situated in the valley of the 
Calapooia creek, on the line of the railroad, about twenty miles 
north of Roseburg. • 

Drain is in the northern part of the county on the line of the rail- 
road. From this point a wagon road leads to Scottsburg and Gardi- 
ner, the seaport. It has a State Normal School, and is rapidly in- 
creasing in population. 

Gardiner, the seaport, is about fifteen miles below Scottsburg, the 
only communication with which is by the river. 

The county is divided into school districts, in all of which public 
schools are kept, which are equal to schools of the same grade in any 
State of the Union. Churches of all denominations, from Roman 
Catholic to the Universalists, are within reach of the people every- 
where. 

The climate of this county is the most desirable in the State, being 
subject to no extremes of heat or cold. It is not so cold as the Wil- 
lamette Valley, on the immediate north, nor so warm in the summer 
as the counties on the south. Snow very seldom falls in the valley, 
and when it does, remains but a short time. During the past winter 
there has been no snow or freezing weather, and the grass has been 
green the entire season. The seasons are divided into the rainy and 
dry, by reason of the trade winds of the Pacific. From the' Sep- 
tember equinox to March, the wiud blows generally from the south 
west and is warm. This brings rain while it moderates the tempera- 
ture, which would otherwise be rigorous in this latitude. The Coast 
Range of mountains forms a complete barrier to the sea-fogs that 
often prevail near the ocean during this season of the year, There 



48 OREGON AS IT IS. 

are no cyclones or severe thunder storms. As might be expected, 
in a country drained by rapid mountain streams, the health of its in- 
habitants is exceptionally good. 

The soils are various, the river bottoms being a sandy loam. 
Higher up there is a dark mold with less sand, and on the hills a 
friable clay of a yellow color, both of which produce fine crops. In 
fact, these lands yield the best crops of grain, and where the hills 
are too precipitous for the plow, furnish abundant grass for pastur- 
age. There are occasional spots, in the higher valleys, of a very 
black soil so mixed with clay as to be difficult of cultivation, except 
in the wet season. This is our strongest land, and, except the bot- 
toms, produces the best crops if properly cultivated. 

The crops never fail in this county. Once in a decade a dry sea- 
son may reduce the the yield, but even then it is equal to the average 
of the Eastern States, Wheat, oats and barley, in fact, every cereal 
except corn, is very productive everywhere. Corn can only be raised 
at a profit on the bottom lands Wheat yields from fifteen to forty 
bushels per acre; barley eighteen to forty five, and oats from thirty- 
five to sixty, according to their cultivation; one hundred and fifteen 
bushels of corn have been raised to the acre in this county, in a 
favorable locality. Our fruit — apples, pears, plums, and every 
variety of fruits and berries, except peaches and grapes — are un- 
equaled in any part of the United States; the latter only succeed in 
a favorable exposure. The yield of all kinds of vegetables is so great 
as to be incredible to a stranger. It is also a fine stock country; 
horses, cattle, hogs and sheep thrive well, and much attention has 
been paid to improving the different breeds. Large numbers are 
raised, especially sheep, the annual wool-crop of this county being 
750,000 pounds. 

The most vital question to the immigrant is, ''How can lands be 
obtained?" There have been some good lands patented to the Ore- 
gon and California Railroad Company. There is also some govern- 
ment land vacant, but it is either so remote or precipitous as to be 
useful only for grazing purposes. Improved farms may be purchased at 
very reasonable rates ; also some cheap claims. 

CURRY COUNTY. 

This county is situated in the extreme southwest corner of Oregon, 
is bounded north by Coos, east by Josephine, south by Del Norte 
county, California, and west by the Pacific ocean, and contains an 
area of about 1200 square miles. It is perhaps the most completely 
isolated of any county in Oregon, consequently little known or 
understood. Its commercial relations are largely with San Francisco 
by means of a regular steamer. Its articles of commerce are, canned 
salmon, wool, beef, hides, tallow, lumber, dairy products, gold dust 
and chrome. The county is mountainous and broken, but possesses 
many fine farms and excellent farm lands along the numerous streams 
that flow down its mountain sides to the ocean. The streams are 
clear as crystal, perfectly pure, ice cold, and possess an inexhaustible 
supply of the finest trout. 



OREGON AS IT IS. 49 

Some of the elevations are covered with heavy growths of fir, live 
oak and cedar, while others are bald, supporting a luxuriant growth 
of grass Rogue river, whose principal tributary is the Illinois, finds 
its way to the ocean across the central portion of Curry County. The 
other streams of the county, all of which flow into the ocean, are 
New, Sixes, Pistol, Chetco, Windchuck and Elk rivers, and Floras, 
Brush and Euchre creeks. On all these streams are tracts of rich 
alluvial bottom lands, while there is much fine agricultural land in 
the valleys scattered here and there in the mountains. The grass 
hills afford splendid grazing for cattle and sheep. Much land is yet 
open to settlement. fc 

Thousands of acres of timber land, advantageously located, can be 
purchased from the Government at $2.50 per acre, or can be home- 
steaded. The salmon run in all the rivers is large. A cannery at 
Ellensburg is doing an extensive business. 

The chief town is Ellensburg, at the mouth of Rogue river. It is 
the county seat, has a large salmon cannery and salmon salting 
establishment, sawmill, number of stores, two hotels, saloons and 
newspapers, etc. It is accessible for ocean craft of light draft, is 
pleasantly situated, nicely built, and has a most excellent and health- 
ful climate. Population about 400. For home seekers who are 
willing to bide their time and bear the isolation, there are many 
excellent locations, nestling in the glades among the hills of Curry. 

Port Orford, thirty miles north of Ellensburg, is the site chosen 
for the harbor of refuge for the Pacific coast. The harbor is a 
picturesque cove and open roadstead nestling under the lee of Cape 
Blanco,- the point extending furthest west of any on the Pacific Coast 
of the United States. 

Many of the hillsides facing the ocean are bare of timber, clothed 
in the finest of grass and furnishing the most excellent range for 
cattle, horses and sheep. 

COOS COUNTY. 

This as Curry, is a coast county. It is not large in extent, but is 
considered exceedingly rich in all that pertains to the wealth of its 
settlers. On the Coos river there is good agricultural land, and the 
area might be indefinitely enlarged if the tidal marshes were diked. 
The coal interest is quite important. 

"Farming in this county is not very extensive, as not many who 
engage in this business are willing to clear the land of the heav} r 
timber, and to reclaim the tide lands is quite expensive; still, those 
who have made farming a business for several years and who have 
dow pleasant country homes, find a ready sale for the products which 
are raised, and at good prices. The time is not far distant when all 
the low lands and flats will become one vast grain field ; and very 
large crops of hay and grain can be raised when properly cultivated. 

The Coquille valley is the principal agricultural district. It is 
situated in the southern part of Coos county, and is penetrated by 
the Coquille river, which drains the major part of said county and 
also a portion of Douglas and Curry. The frontage on the Pacific 
ocean is extensive The land, for the most part, is mountain and 
bench, but there are many creek bottoms on which are situated some 



50 OREGON AS IT IS. 

of our largest farms, and the Coquille river and its four forks Have 
large bottoms. The upland is principally timbered and is free from 
rocks except in a few localities. This part, like most of the coast 
region, is free from ague, chills and fevers, and, in fact, health is so 
good that people who know anything of the country, look upon this 
part as a perfect sanitarium. Many persons who were thought to be 
hopeless consumptives, have become stout and robust after a year's 
residence in this climate. 

There is not a place anywhere that stock can be raised with better 
profit than here. One cannot find a place in our mountains so barren 
that a limited amount of stock cannot be kept on outside range alone. 
Down the coast in southern Coos and northern Curry, dairying is the 
principal industry, scores of tons of butter being shipped annually. 
As a wool-producing section, few places are better adapted. Swine 
do well, often getting fat enough for pork on myrtle mast. Feeding, 
even for beef and mutton is never resorted to except on over-stocked 
ranges, and as fat meat as can be seen anywhere can be bought at the 
markets every month in the year. 

Public lands are to be had in every township, by homestead, pre- 
emption or private entry. The lands most suitable for farming are 
mostly owned, but there are valuable timber claims. 

Fruit of all kinds grows in exceeding abundance. The trees are 
large and healthy, and produce the most luscious fruit imaginable. 
There are acres upon acres of wild fruit in the mountains, such as 
huckleberries, blackberries, salmonberries, etc. 

KLAMATH COUNTY. 

Klamath county is in latitude between 42 degrees and 43 ' degrees 
north, and is situated on the Pacific Slope 130 miles east of the Pa- 
cific Ocean. The county seat is Linkville, a flourishing town, lo- 
cated on both banks of Link river, and distant 61 miles east from the 
town of Ashland, the present terminus of the Oregon and California 
railroad. The county is bounded on the south by the southern 
boundary of the State; on the east by Lake county; on the north by 
Crook county, and on the west by Jackson county. 

The distinguishing features of the county are its high mountains, 
its beautiful lakes, rivers, valleys, prairie land, timber land, abun- 
dant springs (both cold and hot), game, fish, and fine scenery. The 
agricultual districts are the Klamath Basin, the valleys of Lost river, 
Tule lake, and Sprague river, Poe valley and Langell valley. A not- 
able feature of the county is the large bodies of swamp and marsh 
lands that it contains. 

The amount of arable land in the county is about 345,000 acres Of 
this amount about 245,000 acres have already been entered, leaving 
about 145,000 acres yet to be taken. Of the 511,000 acres of grazing 
land, about 75,000 acres have already been secured, and the remain- 
der, about 436,000 acres, are yet unappropriated. Of the 1,250,000 
acres of timber land, only about 10,000 acres have as yet been pur- 
chased. 

The climate may be set down as identical with that of Northern 
California of the same altitude. According to the observations of the 
Signal Service at its station at Linkville, the lowest temperature 



OREGON AS IT IS. 51 

reached in the winter of 1884.5 was 3 above zero. The mercury sel- 
dom falls below zero, and when that occurs it does not generally re- 
main there more than three or four days, and then rises again. In one 
exceptional winter, during the last eleven years, the mercury once 
touched 12 degrees below. The greatest depth of snow in the winter 
of 1884-5 was three inches, but at no time did it remain on the ground 
longer than ten days, During the past eleven years, the snow twice 
reached the depth of two feet, and once laid on the ground 12 weeks. 
But it is unusual for the snow either to fall deep, or to remain so long 
on the ground. During the winters of the period referred to, horses 
running at large on the public range, without care or shelter, survived 
and did well. But for cattle, and especially cows, it is always better and 
sometimes absolutely necessary that they be supplied occasionally dur- 
ing the winter with feed, and better still if they can have shelter. 

In summer the thermometer, during the hottest days, ranges from 
70 degrees to 90 degrees, and on a few occasions it has reached 98 de- 
grees. Like all other places on the Pacific Coast, the nights are gener- 
ally cool. 

Crops of wheat, rye, oats and barley, yield abundantly, Wheat and 
rye volunteer in this county, and volunteer crops of wheat yield 
thirty-five bushels to the acre. This is not a corn country, the nights 
being too cool; still green corn for table use is grown abundantly in 
the gardens. 

The native wild plums of the county, of which there is an abun- 
dance, indicate its adaptability to fruit culture. This being a new 
county, the orchards are few and comparatively young. Apples and 
plums have been raised here for a number of years, and have yielded 
well. Latterly pears have been produced with equal success. Cher- 
ries have also been raised, peaches are not supposed to be well adapted 
to the county; blackberries, raspberries, gooseberries, currants and 
strawberries yield abundantly. 

Potatoes, beets, turnips, cabbage, carrots, onions, parsnips, etc., do 
well and yield abundantly. Pumpkins, squashs. melons, tomatoes and 
other tender vegetables, including corn, do well in favored localities, 
especially on uplands where they can have the benefit of irrigation. 

There, is, perhaps, no better country in America for the raising of 
horses. It is also an excellent county for the raising of cattle, and for 
dairy purposes. Certain localities of the county have proved to be ad- 
mirably adapted to the raising of hogs. This is not claimed to be a 
first-class sheep county, although it is as good for that purpose as 
either Iowa or Missouri, for sheep have been, and still are, raised 
profitably in the county for wool and mutton. Thus far, the most 
profitable stock industry has been the raising of beef cattle, but the 
business of raising horses, mules and hogs, will undoubtedly, here- 
after, prove equally remunerative. 

The market ,for all kinds of stock raised in it, is convenient and 
practically unlimited. .Buyers of horse, mules and beef cattle make 
periodical visits to the county, taking away all the surplus of these 
animals. Under these conditions, a good plan for the farmer is to 
convert the products of his farm largely into stock, and sell it for 
cash. 



52 OEEGON AS IT IS. 

It has been demonstrated by a test of ten years that irrigation is un- 
necessary in raising crops of grain. But for raising crops of timothy, 
redtop, alfalfa, and other grasses for hay, as also for gardens, and for 
furnishing water for stock, ditch water, in a majority of locations, will 
be a great convenience, if not absolutely necessary. For household 
purposes, however, where there is no spring, excellent well water can 
always be had at a depth of from 15 to 25 feet. 

The soil is generally a silicious or sandy loam very fertile and easy 
to work there being little or no sod to rot, no timber or stumps to re- 
move. In the valleys the first plowing brings the land into perfect culti- 
vation and in fact crops have been successfully grown upon land in this 
county which had never been plowed. It is one of the peculiarities of 
this county that while the valleys are comparatively free from timber 
and stone, the surrounding mountains are as a rule covered with a 
variety of excellent timber easily accessible and an abundance of stone 
suitable for building purposes; thus it will be seen that here are to be 
found all the elements necessary to the makeup of a future wealthy 
and prosperous county viz: timber, stone, water and good soil. 

In the agricultural districts of this county yields of grain are 
obtained that appear almost phenomenal, as much as 103 bushels of 
barley and over 100 bushels of oats to the acre having been realized, 
while 50 bushels of wheat to the acre has been threshed during the 
past season. And while upon this subject it is but proper to add that it 
was Klamath county wheat that carried off the premium at the New 
Orleans Exposition in 1885. 

Linkville the county seat of Klamath county is as yet the only town 
of importance in the county; its population is about 600. It is situated 
on both banks of Link river. It is about 62 miles from Ashland. 

The best route of travel to Linkville and Klamath county at present 
will be to come to Ashland by rail and then take stage. 

LAKE COUNTY. 

This is in the extreme southeastern portion of the State and is best 
reached by way of rail to Ashland thence by wagon road across the 
Cascades. As its name implies, it is a region of lakes, many of them 
of considerable size. The county is over 100 miles square. The soil 
is of a rich sandy and loamy natifre and but little of it presents the 
appearance of volcanic origin. #Phe ranges are wide and grasses 
plentiful. The climate is pleai^fit and beautiful in summer; winters 
short and sharp but seldom sev§tfe 

This part, like most of the coa&t region, is free from ague, chills and 
fever, and, in fact, health is so good that people who know anything 
of the country, look upon this part as a perfect sanitarium. Many 
persons who were thought to be hopeless consumptives, have become 
stout and robust after a year's residence in this climate. 

Formerly the chief industry was stock-raising. At present more atten- 
tion is being paid to farming and all the necessary grain for feed or 
for the manufacture of flour is easily produced, and in fact, more than 
the home market will justify on account of there being no successful 
means of transportation to other markets. 

On the margin of the numerous Lakes, there are well improved farms 
annually producing crops of wheat, rye, timothy, vegetables and fruits 



OREGON AS IT IS. 53 

of every kind, including strawberries, raspberries, etc., together with 
all the varieties of flowers and tender plants produced in the Willamette 
valley or the northern portion of California. The timber is of pine, 
juniper and mahogany, excellent both for lumber and fuel There are 
four steam sawmills all in active operation. 

Irrigation appears to be a necessity no longer since the highest and 
dryest tracts of sage brush lands are being converted into productive 
tarms by the simple process, of removing the sage. 

The valleys comprising the County of Lake are known as Silver Lake, 
Summer Lake, Chewaucan, Crooked Creek, Goose Lake, Drews and 
Warner, all of which are lertile and inhabited by industrious stock- 
raisers and farmers The county is out of debt, with money in its 
treasury and taxes only eleven mills. Title to Government land can 
be acquired in this county under the various public land laws of the 
U. S. ; Land office at Lakeview, affording especial facilities to settlers in 
the way of information as to the unoccupied lands 

Lakeview and Paisley are the only towns of importance in the 
county. Lakeview is a business center for a large extent of country, 
has a good newspaper, schools, churches, business houses and other 
good and enterprising features, is the county seat, U. S. Land Office 
located there, has between 300 and 400 inhabitants. It is situated about 
five miles to the north of Goose Lake at the foot hills of the mountains 
on the eastern side of Goose Lake valley. It is the commercial center of 
the county. There are four different mail routes leading from there 
viz: to Redding, Ashland, Silver Lake and Harney Valley. 

Paisley is situated on the Chewaucan river 40 miles north of Lake- 
view. Is a prosperous village of perhaps 150 inhabitants representing 
every branch of industry the county affords, having unbounded wood 
and water facilities. 

For rich agricultural lands, fine meadows, garden spots, grazing and 
stock interests, Lake is the peer of any county in the State and no 
better argument is needed in its behalf — than the wealth of its citizens. 

WESTERN OREGON. 

This section comprises the counties lying along the Willamette and 
Columbia rivers, and is sometimes called the "Garden region" of 
Oregon. In naming it so, it is not intended to carry the impression 
that the soil here is more easily cultivated or surpasses in fertility that 
of other divisions of the State, but simply to indicate that it is more 
generally under cultivation, and already so fully improved, that in 
some respect it resembles a garden. Nearly all of this region has long 
since passed beyond the transition period which marks new countries. 
In the towns, eities and villages, as well as in the rural districts, 
this is made plain. 

This region is bounded on the north by the Columbia river, on the 
south by the Calapooia spur which unites the Coast and Cascade 
ranges, east by the Cascade range, and west by the Pacific Ocean. 
This area contains about 5,000,000 acres Not only do the physical 
features and characteristics of Western Oregon make it to the eye of 
the tourist an attractive country, but no section of America affords a 
better proportion of timber, water, meadow, up-land and table lands 
for the use of mixed husbandry. Certainly no where else on the conti- 



54 OREGON AS IT IS. 

nent has nature more lavishly combined the elements of beauty and 
utility, and has left so little for man to complete in order to realize 
his ideal of an earthly abiding place. In all portions of Western Ore- 
gon the settlers find a gentle rolling suriace, with a soil of exhaust- 
less fertility, and quite all of the conditions he would have chosen in 
creating a home. 

As we have said, he will find it rich in all that pertains to agricul 
tural resources, in its cultivated lands, and no matter at what day or 
week or season of the year he comes upon it, there will be no uncom- 
fortable suspicion that it is a little too near the north or the south pole, 
and he will never, under any circumstances, have to become an 
apologist for the weather, nor burdended with any responsibility for its 
unseasonable peculiarities. The best proof of this is the wealth and 
health and happiness of the thousands whose lives have been spent 
here; the fact that they are in the midst of the best fruit in the world; 
that the "oldest inhabitant-" cannot tell you of a failure of the crop. 

Notwithstanding that most of this is the oldest portion of the State, 
and that much of the cultivated land has been in crops year after year 
for 25 or 30 years, it has often grown a single kind of grain without 
manuring • for thirty years. And the yields obtained from it now 
are such as compare favorably with those at first produced. This 
region yields abundantly all varieties of garden vegetables and fruits. 
In this section, there is a happy admixture of woodland and prairie, 
and it is admirably watered in every section, 

MULTNOMAH COUNTY. 

The smallest, but none the less the richest and most populous county 
in the State is Multnomah, lying along both sides of the Willamette 
near its mouth, and extending along the south side of the Columbia 
from below the mouth of the Willamette to the Cascades. Multnomah 
county consists chiefly of the city of Portland. There is surrounding 
it considerable good land for farming purposes. Lying among the 
hills, along the Columbia river, is rich bottom land for dairy purposes, 
and a wealth of timber covers all the upland and mountains, contribut- 
ing its quota to the sum of the city's prosperity. There are many 
desirable spots to be had at reasonable terms, where vegetables^ etc., 
can be profitably raised for the city market, and good opportunities 
are offered in that business to one who understands it. Dairy farms, 
also, offer an inviting field for intelligent enterprise. Much of this 
land has been placed on the records of the Board during the year; 
especially that lying to the east, between Portland and the Mt. Tabor 
part of the county where berries and fruit are largely raised. T® the 
west of the city the cultivation of pruues, and cherries is very successful 

WASHINGTON COUNTY. 

This county joins Multnomah on the west. On the south, Washing 
ton county is bounded by Yamhill county. On the west, it rises to 
the crest of the Coast range, the summit of which forms the boundary 
line between Washington and Tillamook counties. 

It is pretty nearly square in form, and contains something over 
300,000 acres. As already noted, it is the most northerly and nearest 
the sea-board of all the agricultural counties of the State. This will be 



OREGON AS IT IS. 55 

seen, at a glance, to give now, and at all times in the future, a marked 
advantage to the farmers of this county. The advantage of a few- 
cents on the hundred in transportation amounts, in the course of the 
year, to a vast aggregate. The climate of Washington county is essen- 
tially the same as that of all the Willamette valley. Flowers bloomed 
out of doors February 8th, '86; cherries and plums were in full bloom 
on the i8th of March last. 

The soil of Washington county varies, of course, according to local 
conditions, but may be described in general, as a strong clay subsoil, 
with a covering of from a few inches to several feet of the richest loam, 
and can be plowed without injury to soil almost every month in the 
year. The upland, or hill land, is very pliable and can be plowed at 
any season of the year. The soil of this county is of great fertility, 
and so durable is it, that on the Tualitan bottoms the thirtieth suc- 
cessive crop of wheat has yielded forty bushels to the acre. 

The level portion of this county — about four-fifths of its surface — is 
about two-thirds natural prairie, and one-third brush and timber land. 
The hill part is practically all brush and timber, though occasional 
patches are bare by nature. 

Washington county presents a most pleasing as well as most con- 
venient alternation of hill, plain, valley, prairie and timber. Little, 
even of the hill region, is so steep as to forbid cultivation, and none 
of the surface of the country is so flat as to forbid drainage. The 
running streams of this county furnish an abundance of the best water 
for stock, and never failing springs of the purest, almost ice-cold 
water abound. 

No part of the Willamette valley is superior to Washington county 
in natural adaptability to fruit culture, and no part of Oregon can 
excel it in the quality of its fruit productions, except possibly grapes 
and peaches. Among its wild fruits are vast quantities of berries — 
strawberries, blackberries, huckleberries, and raspberries. Many other 
kinds are found in the mountains, all of them of excellent flavor and 
quality. 

Washington county may justly be said to be the first county in the 
valley in the production of timothy, red top, orchard grass, rye grass, 
and all other tame and cultivated grasses. The lands of Washington 
county, that are for sale, are cheaper, in proportion to quality and 
location, and the other advantages before referred to, than any others 
in the Willamette valley. They vary, of course, all the way from $4 
or $5 to $60 per acre; the former being the cost of fertile unimproved 
timber and brush land, and the latter that of the best and most highly 
cultivated land in the immediate vicinity of the larger towns. Personal 
inspection is needed, of course to balance advantages and disadvan- 
tages, and immigrants will do well to make such inspection. Fine 
farms, reasonably well improved, and well located, can be purchased 
on easy terms at from $15 to $40 per acre. 

CLACKAMAS COUNTY. 

Clackamas county, lying on both sides of the Willamette river, em- 
braces an area of more than a million acres. The greater portion of 
the county lies on the east side of the Willamette river and extending 
to the summit of the Cascade range of mountains. In its general 



56 OREGON AS IT IS. 

features it might be denominated hilly or rolling. The numerous 
mountain streams, traversing it from east to west, naturally divide it 
into bottoms and plateaus, affording a variety of soil. 

On the low bottom lands referred to. the soil is generally a black 
loam of surpassing fertility, especially adapted to grasses, oats, barley 
and vegetables of all kinds. The table lands are of a redish clay loam 
nature, very satisfactory to cultivate, answering quickly to all kinds of 
manures, and excel the bottom lands for wheat, clover and fruits. The 
uplands, by reason of their perfect natural drainage, afford especial 
advantages in the raising of fall wheat. These lands can be plowed at 
any time during the winter, a hard rain not stopping the plow but for 
a few hours, thus insuring early crops and an early harvest. 

About halt a million acres of land in the country has passed into the 
hands of private individuals, the balance being rougher and more 
broken, extends toward the summit of the Cascade mountains and 
affords luxuriant summer pasture for stock and opportunities in this 
direction, by reason of our proximity to market, not enjoyed by any 
other county in the State. A fair portion of this unoccupied land is 
yet open to settlement by homestead and pre-emption. No county in 
the State has as fine water as Clackamas county. What is true of a 
near market for stock is just as applicable to fruit growing and.garden 
ing and for that matter, for all things that a farmer grows and wishes 
to sell. This county has carried off more premiums for its fruit, 
grasses and vegetables than any other county and always feels able to 
do it again. Our lands cannot be excelled in the State and yet strange 
to say, farms can be purchased here within a few hours' journey of Port- 
land, as cheap or cheaper than elsewhere in distant parts of the State. 
Many of the finest fruit and garden farms in the State are in this 
county. All fruits common to the valley grow here and a near market 
makes their culture very profitable. Oregon City is the county seat of 
Clackamas county and has a population of about 2,300. It is situated at 
the falls of the Willamette, is healthful, and has a water power unsur- 
passed in the known world. Small farms near that city are offered all 
the way from $6 to $30 per acre. The Immigration Board of that 
county has a large list of splendid farms which are offered for sale. At 
the State Board rooms, many of these farms are recorded. Here too 
may be found a fine lot of specimen products of Clackamas county 
soil. Deservedly, these attract marked attention from new comers. 

MARION COUNTY. 

This, one of the oldest portions of the State, comprises a beautiful 
region of country, immediately south of Clackamas. There is no 
county in Oregon better adapted for diversified farming and none in 
which greater success has always attended the efforts of the thrifty 
farmer. It has a river frontage of about 60 miles, and in its area it 
embraces some 1,200 miles of prairie, foothill and mountain, the 
greater portion ot which is available for agriculture. Rich in its 
agricultural resources, in its water powers and minerals; as rich in its 
colleges and schools of learning, and a climate unsurpassed for its 
salubrity, it presents to the immigrant from the overcrowded States, 
who comes to the coast with some means, superior advantages. The 
productiveness of the soil is marvelous to those who are accustomed to 



OREGON AS IT IS. 57 

the small crops of the East. With good cultivation, 40 bushels of 
wheat to the acre can be readily secured. A large percentage of that 
growth is white wheat, and the berry is large and plump, often weigh- 
ing 64 pounds to the measured bushel. Fruits of all kinds that grow 
in the temperate zones are at home here There are two main divis- 
ions, the mountains and the valley. The latter extends from the 
Willamette river to the foot of the Cascade mountains, a distance of 
about fifteen miles. The mountainous portion contains some fourteen 
townships of mostly unsurveyed land, lying in a strip twelve miles 
north and south by forty miles east and west, and comprises all classes 
oi land. As a stock county, Marion is good. Horses, cattle,, shetp 
and swine are almost free from disease, and the mildness of the climate 
and productiveness of the soil renders their raising a matter of com- 
paratively little expense. Land in Marion county can be purchased at 
prices varying from $4.50 to $30 per acre. The cheap lands, however, 
are in the foothill portions of the county, and require considerable 
labor to bring into profitable cultivation. The valley -lands can be 
purchased for $10 per acre upwards. An immigrant with means can 
find land to suit him in the county at not unreasonable figures. The 
tax levy for the current year is fourteen mills, being lower than any 
other county in the State. The Willamette river, with two lines of 
railroad running the entire length of the county from north to south, 
gives the producer and merchant ample facilities to reach Portland 
markets. Salem, the capital of the State, is in the county, and is the 
most handsomely laid out town in the State. The private and public 
buildings reflect great credit upon its citizens, and give evidence of the 
confidence which the people have in the future of the place. The 
trade of the county is divided with the various towns, the principal 
one being Gervais; which has grown up since 1870. Silverton, on 
the Narrow Gauge Railroad, has long been one of the principal busi- 
ness points in the county outside of Salem, and since the construction 
of the railroad it has improved very rapidly. 

Salem homes are, as a general thing, well spread out, the lots being 
usually 62^x125 feet large, giving them attractive lawns and fertile 
garden spots. To those who desire a healthful and pleasant climate, 
with fine lands at prices as above, Marion county offers them superior 
inducements; or if they seek a locality for fruit growing, stock raising, 
for a dairy business, lumbering or flouring mills, or for any other 
branch of industry or manufacture, this county offers extraordinary 
advantages. 

The following is the assessment of Marion county for 1885 : There 
are mortgages amounting to $1,009,034 recorded in the county. 
Number of acres of agricultural land 391,748, value $4,169,945; value 
of ail lots in cities and towns $1,228,208; value of improvements $353,- 
113; value of merchandise and implements $697,386; money, notes, 
accounts, and shares of stock, $758,606; value of household furniture, 
pleasure carriages, watches, etc., $310,650; number of horses and 
mules, 6,166, valued at $341,314, number of cattle 10,^95, valued at 
$158,929; number of sheep and goats, 30,245, valued at $55,808; and 
8093 head of swine, worth $17,339. ^ ne gross value of all property in 
the county is placed at $9,079,362; and the indebtedness at $2,564,221 ; 



58 OREGON AS IT IS. 

exempt from taxes, $590,736. Total value of taxable property, $5,- 
924,345 ; as equalized by the Board of Equalization $4,756,777. 
Number of polls 1790. 

YAMHILL COUNTY. 

The land of this county, and the inducements to immigrants, are 
among the best in the State. It lies south of Washington, and between 
the Coast range and the Willamette river. It is an agricultural county. 
It is one of the most thickly settled counties in the State, and to-day 
has within its boundaries more of the early pioneers than any other. 
It is connected with Portland by river and railroad facilities, and has 
better transportation facilities, to market, as a whole, than any county 
in the State. The Yamhill river and Willamette are both at its com- 
mand, while it has the Oregon Central and Narrow Gauge running 
through different parts of the agricultural section. The surface of Yam- 
hill is, in the main, gently rolling, the hills, to their very summits, pro- 
ducing magnificent crops of wheat which, for excellence of quality, is 
not surpassed anywhere in the world. Yamhill has more pasture land 
than Washington, and much more stock, but the latter is not of such 
high grade. 

Within twenty miles of McMinnville, the immigrant can find a few 
sections of Government land. It was burned over some 30 years ago, 
and is now a good pasture for cattle and sheep. Wheat and stock 
raising are the chief industries. As a people, the residents of Yamhill 
are usually prosperous. In no other county is the average of wealth 
so great. There is some land open for settlement in this county, and 
the new-comer will have no difficulty in getting improved land at what 
he is likely to consider extremely reasonable rates. Lafayette is the 
county seat, which is located on the banks of the Yamhill, about 
fifteen miles from the Willamette. 

McMinnville is the principal town in the county, located on the 
Yamhill river, and also on the West Side Railroad. It is a beautiful 
town, surrounded with the finest of agricultural lands. The McMinn- 
ville College, an old and very excellent establishment, is located here 
and has a large number of students, whose presence gives the town a 
very pleasant social activity. Dayton is a river point, and the termi- 
nus on the Yamhill river of the Narrow Gauge Railroad, which runs 
through the southern part of Yamhill county and the northern part of 
Polk. What a writer in the annual Oregonian ('85) says of the valley 
as a whole will apply in this county. "The great drawback to rapid 
improvement in the totals of available products for sale or export, is 
the too extensive acreage in few hands. Many of the early settlers in 
the valley have used the many opportunities their position gave them 
to add field to field, and even farm to farm. The old donation land 
claims gave a half section to the man and the other half of the section 
to his wife. Many of these whole section men have bought, or other- 
wise acquired the quarter section homestead or pre-emption claims 
joining their own .vide section. In very many cases of this kind not 
one-half of the land owned is put into cultivation, but lies, as nature 
left it, covered with rough pasture or light, scattering rose brush. 
Time, and not a long time either, will redress these evils; and the 
passing away, or retirement of the present generation of owners will 



OREGON AS IT IS. 59 

scatter their precious acquisitions. These farmers are the men who 
own the typical Willamette valley farms — neat frame houses, well- 
painted and weather-tight. Snake fences firm and locked, or board 
fences bound their fields. The orchards this season have shone red in 
the sun from the wealth of apples 6n the trees. The Black Berkshire 
pigs are still fat from the windfalls. Besides the staple, wheat, there 
are barley and oats in the granary, and long earth rows of potatoes, 
carrots and rutabagas stored for the winter needs in the field corner 
near the barn. Besides the hay mow, still crammed tight, ready for 
the winter's needs, there is a big pile of wheat, or oats straw, into 
which six or seven head of young cattle and a score of pigs are steadily 
eating their way." 

LANE COUNTY. 

Lane County beginning with 18 miles frontage on the Pacific ocean 
extends eastward 114 miles to the summit of the Cascade mountains, 
embracing the south end and head of the Willamette valley. It has 
an average width of 35 miles containing an area of more than 100 
townships, 45 of which are still unsurveyed. The idea that there are 
large tracts of level prairie land in Lane county still vacant is erroneous. 
There are however large tracts of vacant timbered land level and pro- 
ductive. There are also large tracts of hill land, only lightly timbered, 
inviting the settler. 

The population of Lane county is 12,700. The county government 
is under careful and economical management, county warrants being 
worth their face in gold at the county treasury. Taxes, including 
both State and county, 16 mills. The county is out of debt and has 
funds in the treasury. The leading product of Lane county is wheat, 
which crop where properly cultivated yields from 20 to 40 bushels per 
acre. Hops follow wheat, this county having the largest acreage of 
that crop in the State The yield is from 1,000 to 4,000 pounds per 
acre. Horses sheep, and cattle are largely produced in the foothills, 
and are of fair grade. Hogs are of very inferior stock and somj 
enterprising man could make a hit by importing some thoroughbreds. 

Grasses of all kinds flourish well, timothy taking the lead. White, 
red and alsace clovers make remarkable growths, white clover taking 
hold on the valley lands with a tenacity that promises to exterminate 
all other plants. Concerning the fruit product, the whole truth can- 
not be told. The reader who has not lived in Oregon, and seen with 
his own eyes, would not believe a statement of the enormous yields of 
Oregon's fruit. Apples, pears, plums, prunes, cherries, blackberries, 
currents, strawberries and such fruits reach absolute perfection here, 
both in quality and quantity. Strange as it may seem the rocky ridges 
and slopes of the foothills produce the best .flavored and most certain 
crops of fruit. . Apples, pears, cherries and plums need no cultivation 
after they reach eight or ten years of age and flourish wherever they 
find soil enough to take root if the location is well drained. Peaches 
do well, but as the trees are less hardy than the above mentioned 
fruits, they are neglected and their place largely taken by fruits that 
grow almost spontaneous. 

The abundance of timber makes all classes of building material 
cheap and plenty. At the mills 3 to 7 miles from Eugene, lumber is 



60 OREGON AS IT IS. 

sold at $8 and $10 per thousand for rough common. Building stone, 
of excellent quality, is abundant, and brick retail at $8 per M. 

Within the county and judiciously distributed are 92 school houses, 
supporting free schools from three to nine months in the year. 

This is a great stock country. Its mild and even climate makes the 
feeding and sheltering of stock unnecessary. Thousands ot horses, 
cattle and sheep grow to maturity without having tasted other food 
than native grasses and without other shelter than that afforded by the 
trees and hills. Stock will thrive better of course with food and shel- 
ter during the months ot January, February and March, but for the 
rest of the year, feeding is a waste of labor and money. Its nearness 
to the Pacific ocean, its high ranges of mountains, shutting off cold 
winds; combine to keep the climate of an even temperature so that 
stock need no more shelter than the evergreen trees. 

Lane county is tortunately located for climate. It could 
not be better. Situated midway between the two extremes, it is 
neither too wet nor too dry. It is not so dry that any of the crops 
need irrigation or s > damp as to be uncomfortable. In this book is given 
a table of tempe a: ure and rainfall from which will be seen the average 
variation is only 29 degrees, and that the rain falls at the season of 
the year when it least interferes with the farmer's labor. 

The Siuslaw country is particularly inviting to those wishing to set- 
tle on government land. This country drained by a river and bay by 
the same name, embraces 29 townships, not more than one-twentieth 
of which is occupied. The Siuslaw bay, an arm of the Pacific ocean, 
extending inland 15 miles, affords excellent means of transportation, 
being navigable for good sized steamships its whole length 

Eugene City is the principal town located near the center of the 
county on the O. & C. railroad at the head of navigation of the Wil- 
lamette river and near the junction of the three rivers that unite to 
form this beautiful stream. Its elevation is 476 feet above sea level. 
It is the county seat, metropolis, and virtually the mercantile and 
trade-center of a large country It contains a population of 2000. 
The fact there are no towns nearer than Hoseburg on the south (a dis- 
tance of 74 miles), and Corvallis on the north (a distance of 42 miles), 
gives a very large country tributary to it for trade. The water power 
at this place, almost as nature made it, is sufficient for the mills now 
in operation. 

LINN COUNTY. 

This county joins Marion on the south. Although not one of the 
largest in the State, it is, in fact, the seventh in size; it is 300 square 
miles larger than the State of Delaware. It is twice as large as Rhode 
Island, and more than half as large as Massachusetts. 

There is not in the Willamette valley a more inviting field for im- 
migrants than in Linn county. The county is of compact from, em- 
bracing between six and seven tiers of townships from north to south, 
and eleven or twelve from east to west, the area in acres being about 
1,250,000, or 7,812 quarter section tracts. 

The soil on the margins of the water-courses is a black alluvial 
deposit or a sandy loam, with a clay subsoil; and the uplands are 
generally characterized by red, brown or black loam. These soils are 



OREGON AS IT IS. 61 

all rich and deep, producing abundantly grains, fruits and vegetables. 
" The white lands " form a distinctive and inferior class, but when 
increased population shall make their reclamation necessary — a period 
not distant — a system of drainage and other improvement will undoubt- 
edly be inaugurated that will result in bringing them under cultivation 

Nowhere in the world do small grains do better than in the country 
around Albany and tributary to it in trade. The yield of wheat not 
infrequently reaching 45 bushels to the acre, and it invariaily weighs 
over 60 lbs. to the bushel, sometimes turning the scales at 65. 

Oats yield from 60 to 75 bnshels to the acre, and have been known 
to weigh 39 lbs. to the bushel. Barley does equally as well. Corn 
does not do as well here as in localities of sultry nights. 

Flax is extensively cultivated for the seed; and experts, after a prac- 
tical test, have pronounced Oregon lint the best in the world. 

Albany, the Queen City of the Willamette valley, is the county 
seat of Linn county. Its population is about 3,000 In moral tone, 
its people take the highest ground; its churches and schools are ex- 
cellent. The Albany Collegiate Institute is here situated. It is 
most favorably situated, on the Willamette river, just below the junc- 
tion of the Calapooia. It has the great advantage of both river and 
railroad transportation. The tdwnsite is a level prairie, which 
extends from the river to the foothills. In this locality the new- 
comer will find all the conditions of profitable farming or stock 
raising. There are half a dozen, distinct agricultural districts in 
Linn county, where its rich bottom land, prairie rolling hills and 
mountain table lands, will meet the idea of fine farming property. 

The price of lands in Linn county varies very much, being governed 
by location, nearness to market, facilities for transportation, quality 
and productiveness of soil, character of improvements, church and 
school facilities, and other considerations too numerous to mention. 
Improved lands lying in the plain or prairie portion of the county 
vary in price from $15 to $40 per acre. The same character of lands 
in the " Forks " and along the foothills next to the mountains can 
be purchased at prices varying from $4 to $25 per acre. 

It is commonly believed and asserted by uninformed persons that 
all the land in Linn county is occupied and held at high prices; that 
the new-comers looking for locations on anything but fine improved 
farms, are never directed here, but they are led to believe that they 
must go to other sections of the country where fine tracts of Govern- 
ment lands are to be had for the trouble of taking up. 

It is a fact, though not generally known, that some of the best 
improved land in the Willamette valley lies in this county. There 
are also some good pieces of unoccupied lands suitable for stock- 
raising or other branches of rural industries. This has not been 
occupied for the reason that it is from fifteen to twenty-five miles 
from transportation lines but this disadvantage of location is not so 
great as it appears; the little isolation is no disadvantage at all, but 
rather of a benefit, because of the wide outside range which it affords. 
The lands in question are of four classes — Government, railroad, 
wagon road and school — and they may be obtained cheap and on 
easy terms. 



62 OREGON AS IT IS. 

Linn county is by no means filled up, and it is hoped that the 
large farms will be divided and the unimproved and vacant foothill 
regions receive a good settlement the coming year. 

BENTON COUNTY. 

Benton county extends from the Willamette river on the east to the 
Pacific Ocean, a distance of about sixty miles, and is about thirty 
miles wide, north and south. The eastern half is embraced in the 
Willamette valley and adjacent foothills, and is composed of some of 
the finest grain and fruit lands in the State. The soil varies some- 
what* It is rich alluvial deposit in the bottoms along the river, of 
great fertility and inexhaustible productiveness, while the prairies 
are composed of a variety from black doby to red clay, white soil and 
various qualities of loam. It is all taken and occupied in large farms 
of from two to six hundred acres, although not half of it has ever 
been cultivated, and only partially utilized for stock purposes. 

The east half of the county lies within the Willamette valley prop- 
er; or on the foothills adjacent to it. This represents a stretch of 
country equal to about six hundred square miles, or 384,000 acres. 
No finer body of land for mixed grain or stock farming can be found 
in Oregon, or anywhere else in the temperate zone. The farms, gen- 
erally speaking, are too large. Present owners in most cases acquired 
the land when but a small portion was needed for cultivation, the rest 
being used for pasturing large herds of cattle. Consequently, the 
forty or 50 acres of cultivated land has been almost continuously 
cropped for twenty years in succession. This method of farming has 
given rise to the statement we have often heard made, that much of 
the Willamette valley is exhausted. It might be more truthfully 
stated that it is the old-time settler who is exhausted. But summer- 
fallowing and a succession of crops in proper order, applied on a farm 
of this kind, reward the husbandman in an ample manner. There 
are few farms for sale in the Willamette valley, the products, and 
consequently the profits of which, cannot be doubled by the application 
of the improved methods of modern farming. 

There is abundance of wood and water supply. The climate is 
mild, and the soil is lasting and very productive. Accessibility to 
market and cheap transportation we have in Benton county, and need 
the population to develop and improve these natural advantages. 

Benton county has attractions for other settlers besides the trained 
farmer and capitalist who can invest in his farm and stock, provide 
himself with implements and tools, and wait for the next year's re- 
turns to verify his enterprise and foresight. 

The whole of the hill country between the eastern foothills of the 
Coast range and the Pacific ocean is full of such places. West of the 
Coast range there are several important valleys, which from the mild 
climate and abundant vegetation are certain to form the dairy farms 
of the near future. Such are the valleys of the Yaquina, Alsea and 
their tributaries. The winters are never severe; snow rarely lies for 
a week at a time or exceeds one inch in depth . Wind and thunder 
storms and tempests are drawbacks never to be feared by the dwellers 
in this country. The cattle thrive well and care for themselves the 
year round, 



OREGON AS IT IS. 63 

Good improved farms in the eastern half of the county, and situa- 
ted in the Willamette valley proper, vary in price from $25 to $50 an 
acre, according to the advantages of position and nearness to town 
and markets. In the foothills the price might be stated at from $1 ?J 
to $25 an acre, varying with the value of the improvements of the farm 
and the quantity of cleared and cultivated land. In the hill districts 
and the more sparsely settled area of the Coast country, land com- 
mands from $4 to $12 J an acre, the price being governed very largely 
by the accessibility to railroads, wagon road or river. 

There are 65 school districts in the county, and the schools are 
attended by 3278 children. Each district can support a six months' 
free school each year, and most of the districts nine months. The 
funds used in the support of schools are raised by a four mills coun- 
ty tax, together with the county's share of the State school fund. 

POLK COUNTY. 

Polk county is situated in the fertile Willamette valley — the fourth 
south of the Columbia river of the west of Willamette counties. It 
is bounded on the north by Yamhill county, on the east by the navi- 
gable Willamette river, on the west by the Coast range of mountains 
separating Polk from Tillamook county, and on the south by the 
northern part of Benton county. 

In Polk county, whenever the thermometer falls a few degrees be- 
low the freezing point, the weather is usually bright and pleasant, 
with heavy white frost at night. The frosts that occur in spring, 
which in other localities would be severe enough to injure fruit and 
other crops, are commonly followed by heavy fogs from the ocean. 
The humidity of these fogs dissolves the frost before the sun can 
strike the vegetation, so that no harm is done by it. This moist at- 
mosphere keeps the grass perennially green, and it is not unusual for 
flowers to bloom in the open air the winter through. The spring 
opens so early that the farmer sows his seed, and the fruit trees and 
wild flowers are in bloom, when in latitude from four to six degrees 
farther south on the Atlantic coast the rigor of winter is unrelaxed. 
During the remainder of the year, from April to October, the weather 
is delightful. 

The soil of the hills is usually of a reddish color, and is said to be 
the best wheat land in the State — the wheat grown in this soil being 
pronounced by millers the richest in flour. The soil of the prairie is 
a rich, dark loam, and is very productive in all the cereals. The soil 
in the hill lands is celebrated for its fertility, and is found to be su- 
perior to most bottom lands. All the bottom lands are made up of 
the detritus from the hills, added to the clays and loams from other 
sources. A farm of red hill land near Eola, this county, was tilled 
for fifteen and another nineteen years, and raised crops usually exceed- 
ing thirty bushels of wheat per acre, without the addition of any fer- 
tilizer, and without the least impairment of the soil. The soil in the 
foothills, we may conclude from circumstances, is inexhaustible in 
fertility, inasmuch as the materials for renewing its strength exist 
beneath it, and the process of renewal is constantly going on, and by 
tillage the process is quickened. 

While it is true that a great portion of the prairie land has been 



64 OREGON AS IT IS. 

settled for years, yet the intending purchaser can buy a well improved 
home at prices ranging from $15 to $35 per acre, and unimproved 
lands from $1.50 to $10 per acre, and we believe that, when improved, 
some of the wild land will make the best homes, for here, as in all 
new countries, the first settlers usually make the poorest selections. 
A small farm well tilled will afford a living at once, obviating the 
loss of time and the hardship incident to a new settlement. Polk 
county has an area of some 800 square miles, 100 square miles of 
which are government and railroad lands, and to parties who desire 
this class of land the fact is of great importance that the mild climate 
greatly mitigates the discomforts of the first few years, and that the 
legitimate rewards of the husbandman's toil are nowhere more certain 
to be reaped. 

The Coast range of mountains, which bound Polk county on the 
west, are remarkable for the wealth and fruitfulness of the soil, being 
adapted to stock raising. Here the richest grasses grow in luxuri- 
ance, and cattle live and fatten thereon throughout the whole year, 
and our farmers for winter range drive their stock to the mountains, 
and they thrive there without care. Sheep husbandry is one of the 
greatest and most productive industries. Fruits of all kinds are 
raised throughout the county in abundance, especially in the hill 
lands, which are said to be better adapted to fruit growing than the 
valley. 

Vast quantities of spruce, hemlock, fir and cedar crown the moun- 
tain sides, while along the streams and im the foothills the softer 
woods are found in plenty. 

The Narrow Gauge railroad, whose temporary terminus is at Air- 
lie, in Polk county, traverses the entire county, except a few miles 
south. 

The people of Polk county are alive to the importance of educa- 
tion and public morals, and schools and churches are quite liberally 
patronized. In intelligence, morality, love of order, and all the 
qualities of good citizenship, Polk county's population will compare 
favorably with any of equal number in the "United States. 

The prominent towns are Dallas, Buena Vista, Dixie, Independ- 
ence, Monmouth and Airlie. The county seat of Polk county is one 
of the most promising towns in the bustling Willamette valley. It 
is remarkably healthy, having, of course, its quota of diseases. The 
complaints incident to childhood have never prevailed as severe epi- 
demics. Typhoid fever appears, as elsewhere, as well as other ordin- 
ary diseases. Typhus fever never occurs. Cholera, which two years 
ago made a scourge in the east, has never reached Polk county, or 
for that matter any other county in Oregon. Dallas is one mile 
square; population 1000; expects to double it in two years, and then 
keep on doubling it. Has about four or five miles of six-foot side- 
walk, and fine broad streets flanked with shade trees. Through the 
city of Dallas a fine race runs, fed from above the city by the swift 
La Creole, and emptying below the city into the same stream. The 
length of this race is about three-fourths of a mile. This water pow- 
er lies idle now, and can be secured very cheap by some miller or 



OREGON AS IT IS. 65 

manufacturer who would immediately utilize it. Three miles above 
Dallas is another fine water power. 

COLUMBIA COUNTY. 

This county hugs the Columbia river, which is its western boundary. 
It is a mountainous region in its eastern half. But there is a very 
large domain along the river, embracing some of the richest lands in 
State. 

The superficial area of the county is 680 square miles. Its chief 
resources are coal, iron and timber, though their is much good land 
but partially tilled. A range of high hills, covered with timber, runs 
nearly parallel with the river. On one side are the Columbia bot- 
toms, and on the other, the fertile Nehalem valley. The botton lands 
along the river are subject to overflow in June, and when the water 
recedes, a luxurious growth of grass springs up, making splendid 
pasturage and hay. The dairy business is quite extensively carried 
on in these favored localities. Comparatively little farming is done 
along the river, the lumbering business absorbing the attention of 
the people. Every stream of any size has been cleared of obstruc- 
tions, so that logs can be run down them in high water season. 

It costs more to get a farm under way here than in a prairie dis- 
trict; but there are many who deem the special expense more than 
compensated by the advantages of a location in a timbered region 
and near water transportation to market. 

A great deal of excellent land is for sale here, at from $3.50 to $10 
and $20 an acre. The logging industry, while it cuts down the tim- 
ber, helps clear the land, leaving it available for the all-the -year-round 
pasture even before the stumps and small growths are removed. 
Logging progresses at all seasons and affords steady employment to 
all who choose to work at it for wages. Many settlers put in such 
time as they can there in opening their farms, and earn their main- 
tenance in the logging camp. 

St. Helens and Columbia City, on the river, are the principal towns 
in the county. 

THE COAST REGION. 

Belonging to the Coast region in the northwestern portion of the 
State, are the counties of Clatsop and Tillamook; most of this region 
is timbered. The vine maple bottoms, as the low lands along the 
streams are generally called, are most desirable, and will prove them- 
selves the poor men's homes of the future. To render them such, 
work is necessary, either by the settler himself, as is generally the 
case, or by others whom he pays for their labor. Much of this land 
has enough cottonwood to pay for it clearing, since barrel staves 
of that wood are in demand. The fir will make fence rails and shakes 
for houses and barns, the larger vine maples make durable posts, 
and the elders and the quaking aspens can be slashed for burning. 
Next comes the fir, leaving the ashes to fertiliz the soil, and up comes 
the shamrock, which is a natural growth and a great element of 
wealth. This tiny white clover is everywhere along the bottoms, and 
is the best butter food known. The streams are numerous, while 
springs of pure water burst fram the ground in every gulch and at 



66 OREGON AS IT IS. 

frequent intervals along the hillsides. Snow is unknown except on 
the hills, and grass and clover are perpetually fresh and green. 

CLATSOP COUNTY. 

In the northwest part of the State lies Clatsop county. It is 
twenty miles long and has an average width of thirty miles. Its soil 
is a light loam and sand, easily cultivated and highly productive. 
Its climate is the ordinary 7 climate of Western Oregon in winter, with 
a constant moisture in summer, which keeps its pastures always 
green. Every thiDg is well watered, and timber in abundance borders 
the eastern margin. The chief industry of Clatsop Plains is that of 
butter and cheese manufacture. In no locality in the world are the 
conditions for dairying more fortunate than here. An unfailing 
verdure, a cool and equable climate, rich native grasses, abundance 
of pure fresh water, nearness to market, all the conditions are here 
in perfection, and all made highly valuable bj constant demand and 
high prices for dairy products. 

The surface of the county is largely mountainous, but man} 7 streams 
flow through, along which are areas of fine agricultural land. Even 
back from the streams, almost everywhere, the soil is excellent and 
well adapted to cultivation, when the ground has been cleared of its- 
dense growth of timber. Clatsop Plains, a strip of land lying along 
the sea shore, which has been settled for thirty-five years, is the 
largest body of agricultural land in the county. The soil is light 
and sandy, and produces vegetables, grain and small fruits in abun- 
dance. But little wheat is raised, oats and barley being the princi- 
pal cereals. Hay is the chief crop and dairying the leading feature 
with the farming population. 

In no county in the State is there such variety of employment for 
the wage- worker. It is estimated that $1,500,060 is paid out annually 
for labor in fishing and logging. It is a common thing for immi- 
grants to settle upon Government land which may be had for the 
taking, and to work in the fisheries in summer, or the logging camps 
in winter, the while making such improvements on their settlements 
as they can. Being near the coast, snows are infrequent, and never 
lie longer than a few hours. There are many such openings for the 
industrious and thrifty new-comer, in Clatsop county. The people 
will give him cordial welcome, and such assistance and help as he 
maj 7 need to get a foothold. If the immigrant comes via San Fran- 
cisco, he can stop off at Astoria. If he comes by either of the rail- 
ways he can get a daily steamer from Portland. 

Astoria is at the mouth of the Columbia, and the central figure in 
the salmon fishing feature of the Northwest. It has a most health- 
ful climate, and is sometimes called (and appropriately enough) the 
Venice of America. It is a favorite summer resort of the people of 
Western Oregon. It is always in possession of a delightful sea- 
breeze, and the hills in the vicinity are covered from base to dome 
with architectural groups of earlier days and more modern progress. 
The more even portion of the city is adorned with comfortable and 
well constructed homes, that bespeak comfort, culture and a refined 
taste of their owners and occupants. The future holds out bright 



OREGON AS IT IS. 67 

promises for our city by the sea. Situated as it is, at the mouth of 
the Columbia, with a good harbor and a custom house, it is the 
natural gateway of Oregon for all ocean commerce. 

TILLAMOOK COUNTY. 

This is one of the isolated counties of the State. It lies for seventy 
\iles along the coast, reaching inland as far as the summit of the 
ast range of mountains, and having Clatsop adjoining it on the 
rth and Benton on the south. Along all the streams are many 
>usand acres o'f valley and bottom lands, the greater portion of 
iich are as yet unsettled, and in the uplands along the coast, be- 
een the streams, are vast tracts of splendid grazing land, fitted for 
riculture when cleared, that remain still in their primitive state. 
ie largest and oldest settled section of agricultural land is Tilla- 
>ok valley, surrounded by mountains on the north, east and south, 
d sheltered from the ocean winds by a range of h"igh hills that rise 
tween it and Tillamook bay, it possesses the most delightful 
mate of the whole coast of Oregon. Back of the fringe of timber, 
nile or two deep around the bay, the valley opens in a fine variety 
prairie, woodland, knoll and ravine, stretching away for miles, to 
mb at last the easy and wooded slopes of the Coast range Three 
four rivers come down from the mountains through narrowing 
us of the valley, gathering the bright, pure waters of hundreds of 
mntain rivulets and brooks. The best of valley land (nearingthat 
iich is prairie and most easily cleared) is, of course, ocenpied by 
jtlers already there. But there is room for thousands of home- 
sads on Government land which can be put in cultivation at an 
pense of a few dollars per acre. 

The country is finely adapted to general farming, stock raising and 
irying, and the land is literally "dirt cheap." Two bays easily 
proached from the ocean afford ample port facilities, and numerous 
iall livers and inlets make transportation cheap and easy. We do 
t believe that any section of Oregon offers better advantages to the 
;tler of small means than Tillamook county. The country is new, 
d little has been done in the way of school house and church 
ilding, but the soil is rich and cheap and the market is not very 
ncult. The prairie lands or high plains, stretching up and down 
b coast for nearly sixty miles and back to the mountains for twelve 
les, are easiest reached, and but for the ferns and breaks that 
aw in profusion, absorbing the moisture and killing off other vege- 
:ion, would make the finest farms. As it is the vine maple bottoms 
3 the most desirable. The barley region is superior to that of the 
illamette valley, and oats, potatoes, fruits and all kinds of vege- 
)les are prolific. Tilamook City and Oretown are busy, thrifty towns 
d centers of trade. The immigrant for Tillamook should come to 
•rtland as a starting point. He can find the proper information as 
to route on application at the State Board rooms. 



** OREGON AS IT IS. 

SUPLLEMENTARY 



The sum appropriated for its use is r>,000 each, for the year 1885 and 1886. 

A FINAL WORD TO THE IMMIGRANT. 

In summing up aiuUmaking an application of what has been written hi fh« f'^„ : 

to be touched by hose physical achievements, which havenSS m^faLfatiS 

a lost Atlantis. Oregon is a very empire the pride of every honest citizen inc. rnn 
tains within her boundary lines all the essentail elements dv a hai^ 1 Jospelo s ex" 

^ZV"r ei ^ WlU ? h need °° l y the ****** a * d libe ^l care TOESd^S 
to make them the realization of the hope of the most sanguine P P 

exceUionarm^neT,£ n ^ SlOWly ' W^ * P°P ulatio ^ h ^ our people have been 
Sffi^^JS^f??^ Prosperity. Just now we are increasing at a ratio that 
Ts now I } ^ 6 0l ZZ° n ? Population told in seven figures rather than in six 

con trv an Hi wm 2 J**? ft"*"^ a P^ple equal to°that of any other m the 
countij and it will feed and clothe every inhabitant luxuriously In this State the 

^&fl%fi&m ^-^ Pl-ty; indeed, more Ln^^ 

iSt^JS^^ 7 S gaged WOr ! kin f 0Ut f01 ' h6rSelf ' the 5 ° 1Uti011 ° f ^ mUlti " 

Soducts^theZi ^ X ^veral relations affect the farmers who raise the 

keennt the sSw 1 ma " who nnds a marke * for those products; questions of 

med Sue arfs thJ tlf IP F^fe/^ P«>^°g * counterpoising enterprise in the 
whatwP nnllU f the balance of trade-(our surplus capital sent oSt of the State for 

T^o!nt^oX^wT^° m -^ B - n ° ^^agaiit us. Careful inquiry and 
intelligent action m this direction, is bringing a gratifying reward. 

man of A nerfo W 1 * ^° dn f 0l \ of a11 S rai » a » d glasses known to the husband- 

ortabletTo^tt- fT* +? * 1 ^ ° ther fud with which to warui and make com- 

Z\t L I 1 P T ? hve *"?? aS ^ reat as the P resent - We l^ve the best breed of 

cattle and hogs and sheep and horses. We have a complete educational system- a 

choo" 5£T2g lb8t ;«^ <* a " fc«^ a » d the best, from college JdiXict 
to lh e J I J ^ teinent ^ 1S t the best warrant that Oregon is a good State in which 
lvceum an,? S^ iT ? *£? *$* the ^ h is su PP le ™nted by the school house, 
n W literary ^club, for the cultivation of that which is best in human character! 

seen o! ^ ,L a l '^1 g n "* h f ^ ^ behilld the material P r °gress which can be 
ter ™LlI «? i ^ J^h £*" great reaSon to be thankful for her heritage-and 
an 1 Sit,! 1 f VA t their J? ? ^ fallen in P leasant P la ^ es ? Pl*«» where in soil 
+ lrft wS .vili P ?f IU ? tS ' m r 1 the ? onditi ™ s ° f the highest in human life, they find 
tnat which %v ill not fail in realizing the brightest hopes. 






NEWSPAPER DIRECTORY. 



A complete list of all the Newspapers 

MULTNOMAH COUNTY. 

Portland— 

Oregonian, Daily and Weekly. 
News, '« 

Telegram, " " " 

Catholic Sentinel, Thursday. 
Columbia Churchman, Monthly. 
Commercial Reporter and ) p-JHav 

Journal of Commerce, f y * 

Lewis & Dryden's Official Railway Guide for 

Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and 

British Columbia. 
New Mursday. 

ekly. 
Nort ;ural Spirit, Friday. 

Northwest Fanner and Dairyman, Weekly. 
Oregon Deutsche Zeitung, Saturday. 
Par in Advocate, Thursday. 

ivtor, Monthly. 
Staats Zeitung of Oregon and Washington, 

Friday. 
Mercury, Sunday. 

Monthly. 

East l 

Vindicator, Saturday. 

LINN COUNTY. 
Alba i 

St v Democrat, Friday. 

JACKSON COUNTY. 



Weekly. 



Ashland- 

Jacl^ 

iiues, Friday. 
Medford Monitor. 

CLATSOP COUNTY. 
Astoria— 

>rian, Daily and Weekly. 
Gateway Herald, Daily and Weekly. 

BAKER COUNTY. 
Baker— 

• die, Thursday. 

Democrat, Wednesday. 
Tribune, Tuesday and Friday. 

GRANT COUNTY. 






lay. 
I ILLA COUNTY. 



, Tuesday and 1 
une, Frid 
West i 

Leader, Saturday. 

)UNTY. 

STY. 

r, Friday. 

<ii Oracle. 

ina Mail. 

•TY 

Saturday. 

dav. 

tian Herald, Friday. 



and Periodicals published in Oregoa. 

YAMHILL COUNTY. 
La Fayette — 

gistar, Friday. 

McMinnville — 

Baptist Beacon, Monthly. 
Reporter, Thursday. 

CURRY COUNTY. 
Danmark— 

Recorder, Tuesday. 
Ellensburg — 

Curry County Post, Friday. 

Gold Beach Gazette. 

LANE COUNTY. 
Eugene- 
Guard, Saturday 
Oregon State Journal, Saturday. 

WASHINGTON COUNTY. 
Hillsboro — 

Independent, Friday. 

UNION COUNTY. 
La Grande — 
Gazette. 

Union — 

Mountain Sentinel, Saturday. 

LAKE COUNTY 
Lake Vie\ 

Lake County Examiner, Saturday 

KLAMATH COUNTY. 
Linkville — 

Star, Saturday. 

COOS COUNTY. 

Marshfkl 

Coquille City Herald. 

I ail, Thursday. 
Coc ,, Wednesday. 

Newj 

I KAMAS COUNTY. 
Oregon City— 

Courier, Friday. 
Enterprise, Thursday. 

>OK COUNTY. 
Prineville — 

News, Saturday. 

DOUGLAS COUNTY. 
Roseburg — 

Plain dealer, Saturday. 

VVeekly. 
Drain K ly, 

OUNTY. 
St. Helens — 

mbian, Friday. 
Oregon Mist, Friday. 

\KION COUNTY. 
Sal em ^ 

Oregon Statesman, Daily and Weekly . 
Oregon Vidette, Saturday. 

ly and Weekly. 
Willamette Farmer, Friday. 
Silverton— 

I teal, Saturday. 

WA^ ,TY. 

The Dalles- 
Sun, Daily and Weekly. 
Times-Mountaineer, Saturday. 

JOSEPHINE COUNTY. 
Gran 

' iy- 

LLIAM COUN1 
Alkali- 
Riverside Enterj rise. 
Inland Times. 




Scene on the Upper Columbia. 




LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




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